Live coverage: Ariane 5 rocket deploys satellites for Australia, India

A European Ariane 5 rocket took off on its first flight of the year Wednesday with a new-generation communications satellite for Intelsat, lighting up the sky over its French Guiana launch base as it arced over the Atlantic Ocean.

The sixth and final satellite in the U.S. military’s network of ultra-secure, nuclear-hardened AEHF communications relay stations has arrived in Florida for final preparations for liftoff in March on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket, the first of nearly 20 U.S. Space Force missions planned for launch in the first year of operations for the new military service.

A European Ariane 5 rocket, burning a cryogenic mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, thundered into the sky over French Guiana at dusk Tuesday with two communications relay satellites to serve the Arab world and India.