An Ariane 5 rocket fired into space from a tropical spaceport in French Guiana on Wednesday, successfully delivering two television broadcast satellites into high-altitude orbits for DirecTV and Sky Mexico.
Two direct-to-home broadcasting satellites have launched from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Liftoff with DirecTV 15 and Sky Mexico 1 occurred at 2116 GMT (5:16 p.m. EDT) Wednesday.
Technicians transferred an Ariane 5 rocket loaded with two DirecTV broadcasting satellites to a launch pad in French Guiana on Tuesday, one day before the European launcher is set for liftoff.