Ariane-5 places huge Canadian satellite into orbit

PARIS (AFP) Jul 18, 2004
An Ariane-5 rocket placed the world's largest telecommunications satellite into orbit late Saturday after blasting off from the Kourou site in French Guiana, Arianespace said.

The launch of the Ariane-5, carrying the nearly six-tonne Anik-2F satellite, took place at 9:44 pm Saturday (0044 GMT Sunday), Arianespace said at its headquarters at Evry near Paris. The satellite was placed into orbit 28 minutes later.

Built by Boeing Satellite Systems (BSS) in El Segundo, California, Anik-2F is to provide telecommunications services across North America for 15 years for the Canadian operator Telesat.

The launch was initially scheduled for Monday but was put off for three days due to a technical problem, then poor weather conditions and another "anomaly" caused two further 24-hour postponements,

SPACE.WIRE