Ariane 5 rocket powers African satellites to orbit

Europe's Ariane 5 rocket accomplished its third commercial mission of the year Wednesday, delivering to orbit two African communications satellites to broadcast television programming and boost connectivity with rural villages. The 166-foot-tall launcher took off at 2059 GMT (4:59 p.m. EDT) and soared into partly cloudy skies over the French-run space base in Kourou, French Guiana. After turning east from the South American coast, the Ariane 5 rocketed into the upper atmosphere and shed its twin solid rocket boosters about 2 minutes, 15 seconds after liftoff. More

(Source: Space Flight Now - Aug 5)