Live coverage: Two satellites lift off aboard Ariane 5

A European-built Ariane 5 rocket rolled out to a launch pad in the South American jungle Wednesday with a pair of commercial television broadcast satellites for AT&T and Eutelsat, setting the stage for liftoff Thursday evening.

Greg Wyler has corralled blue-chip companies to invest in his dream to beam affordable broadband Internet signals around the world, a mission he sees as a prerequisite to providing billions of unconnected, underserved people with the tools necessary to succeed in a modern marketplace of goods, services and information.

Construction of a new launch pad for Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket, which will be put together horizontally instead of vertically, is due to begin next week at an abandoned quarry site in French Guiana.