KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) - Western Europe's 121st Ariane rocket will launch a satellite for U.S. operator Loral Skynet on Saturday, the Arianespace company said on Wednesday.

The Telstar 7 satellite will be carried aboard an Ariane-4 rocket from the European Space Agency (ESA) launch center in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeast coast of South America.

Launch is slated for between 3.29 a.m. and 4.29 a.m (0629-0729 GMT).

Telstar 7 will provide digital television broadcasting for cable networks throughout the United States, Mexico and parts of South America.

Originally scheduled for launch aboard a U.S. Atlas rocket, Space Systems/Loral Loral Skynet's parent company switched to Ariane after Atlas launches were halted due to technical problems.