Ariane 5

Photos: Ariane 5 counting down to liftoff

Launch crews rolled out a nearly 180-foot-tall Ariane 5 rocket to its launch pad Monday in a final major step before liftoff with the Arabsat 6B and GSAT 15 communications satellites to broadcast television, broadband and other telecom services across Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and India.

Ariane 5

Eutelsat goes for rare dedicated Ariane 5 launch

Paris-based satellite operator Eutelsat plans to launch a spacecraft for video broadcasting and broadband connectivity over Latin America aboard a dedicated Ariane 5 rocket in early 2016, several months earlier than planned, on a rare commercial single-payload flight of the workhorse launcher, Eutelsat’s chief executive said Wednesday.

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‘Big three’ nab commercial launch contracts

SpaceX announced Monday two new Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket missions from Cape Canaveral, Arianespace said it cinched a contract to launch a Japanese TV broadcasting satellite, and International Launch Services revealed a deal to launch a Spanish telecommunications payload, ending a drought in commercial Proton launch orders.