An Ariane 5 rocket blasted off Wednesday from French Guiana on a mission to transport two communications satellites into space, according to dpa. Flight VA223 lifted off at 6:16 pm (2116 GMT). Arianespace said it was the fourth launch from the European spaceport in Kourou on the Atlantic coast of the South American country. The rocket carried satellites for DirectTV and SKY Mexico. The 6.2-ton DirectTV-15 was placed into orbit 30 minutes into the flight, Ariane Space said. The satellite, built by Airbus Defence and Space in Toulouse, France, is to serve customers in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The other satellite, built by Orbital ATK in the US state of Virginia, is for the Mexican cable television provider SKY Mexico. The 3-ton satellite was put into position 10 minutes after the first one. It will serve customers in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Each satellite has a life span of 15 years. Arianespace was founded in 1980 as a commercial satellite launch company. Its shareholders include Airbus Safran Launchers, the French space agency CNES and the space companies of 10 European countries.
