Arianespace's Soyuz launch at the service of O3b Networks has been postponed for 24 hours due to unfavorable winds over the Spaceport launch site in French Guiana.

This safety-related step will result in a new final countdown sequence tomorrow, June 25, with the liftoff set for the precise moment at 3:54:03 p.m., local time in French Guiana.

The medium-lift Soyuz and its payload of four O3b Networks connectivity satellites remain in a safe mode on the Spaceport's ELS launch pad, protected by the mobile service gantry.

Designated Flight VS05 in Arianespace's numbering system, the launch will be the first for O3b Networks as it builds a satellite constellation to provide low-cost, high-speed, low latency Internet and mobile connectivity to billions of consumers and businesses in nearly 180 countries.

Arianespace will perform three Soyuz flights for O3b Networks, each carrying a cluster of four satellites. Two of these missions are planned in 2013, followed by the third next year.