Ariane 5 rocket successfully orbits French military craft

France successfully launched a new spy satellite on Friday during a midday launch from French Guiana, using Europe's trusted Ariane 5 rocket to send the nearly $1 billion payload to orbit. After an uneventful countdown, the Ariane 5's hydrogen-burning Vulcain engine ignited with a flash and two powerful solid rocket boosters lit with a crackling roar at 1626 GMT (11:26 a.m. EST), or 1:26 p.m. local time at the Guiana Space Center on South America's northeast coast. More

(Source: Space Flight Now - Dec 19)