Built by Hughes Space and Communications, Galaxy 10-R will spend the next few days flying into its final orbit 22,300 miles over the equator, where ground controllers will test its systems before declaring the satellite fit for use.

Once operational, the satellite will be positioned near two other satellites already in orbit to provide cable television programming featuring such stations as the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, ESPN and The Outdoor Channel.

The system is owned and operated by PanAmSat Corp., a company that now has a total of 21 satellites in orbit over Earth and whose services are used by more than 125 million households worldwide.

Galaxy 10-R is a replacement satellite for Galaxy 10, which was destroyed following the botched inaugural flight of Boeing's Delta 3 rocket in August 1998. Fully insured, PanAmSat procured another satellite from Hughes and this time selected Arianespace to launch the satellite, rather than going with a U.S. launch firm.

"As soon as they knew the possible launch date, they got in touch with Arianespace -- it was one year ago -- and we decided to launch in early 2000 because we had this launch opportunity," Patrick Rudloff, Arianespace vice president for business development said from the company's headquarters in Evry, France.

"We have a long relationship with Arianespace that goes back to 1988, including the launch of our first international satellite," explained Dan Marcus, PanAmSat's vice president for communications. "They have provided very high reliability and they have been very flexible with the schedule."

PanAmSat has plans to launch five more satellites by mid-2001, and none of them are scheduled to ride U.S.-procured rockets. Instead the company will be relying on the international Ariane, Proton and Zenit boosters.

That isn't good news for the U.S. launch industry, which is still trying to recover from a string of commercial and military launch failures that grounded or delayed many satellite missions from Cape Canaveral in 1999.

Industry observers say several of the 16 new satellite delivery contracts Arianespace signed in 1999 could have gone to U.S. firms such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin if it weren't for the problems.

"Nobody was going to sign a contract until the return to flight question was resolved," said Ed O'Connor, director of the Spaceport Florida Authority -- the Sunshine State's official space agency -- which, in part, works to attract aerospace business to Florida. "Very quickly, this year, we're going to see the confidence completely restored."

Monday's launch from the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana kicks off what Arianespace officials hope will be a very busy 2000.

"This year, we plan to launch 15 times," Rudloff said.

The plan is for Arianespace to launch five of the new Ariane 5 rockets, and between eight and ten of the Ariane 4 model, depending on when their satellites are ready for launch, Rudloff said.

The next Ariane 4 launch is targeted for mid-February and will carry Superbird 4, while the larger Ariane 5's next mission is aiming for a March liftoff. It will loft a pair of satellites: AsiaStar and Insat 3-B. All three spacecraft are communications satellites.