Live coverage: Ariane 5 lifts off on its first Galileo launch

After a quarter-century readying Global Positioning System satellites for launch at a Cape Canaveral Air Force Station processing hub, the final bird rolled out Saturday as the navigation program transitions to a new era.

Arianespace launched an Ariane 5 rocket on its sixth and final flight of the year at 2037 GMT (3:37 p.m. EST) Tuesday, blasting off from Kourou, French Guiana, with India’s heaviest-ever satellite and a South Korean weather satellite equipped with a U.S.-made imaging camera.

Europe’s next-generation launcher family has moved a step closer to reality with the signature of nearly $3.8 billion in contracts for development of the Ariane 6 rocket and an upgraded version of the lightweight Vega booster.