Launch of this historic flight took place at 22:54 Central European Summer Time (CEST), or 17:54 French Guiana Time.
The Ariane 5 ECA was launched from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, and it deployed two telecommunications satellites: Intelsat 20 and Hylas-2.
Intelsat 20 is one of the most powerful Fixed Satellite Services (FSS) Communications Satellites ever built. Space Systems Loral of Palo Alto, California, manufactured the satellite.
Hylas 2 is a Commercial Communications Satellite that was manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation based in Dulles, Virginia, and will be operated by Avanti Communications Group, London.
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And, for more on this story, please read the 8/2/2012 ESA News article "Ariane 5 performs 50th successful launch in a row". It contains a video of the historic launch.
It states, "Including its double payload, the 50.5-m-tall Ariane 5 ECA had a total lift-off mass of 780 tonnes. Its target injection orbit had a perigee (low point) of 249.5 km and apogee (high point) of 35 934 km with an inclination of 6° relative to the equator."
Congratulations to Ariane 5!
