In its first launch of the year, Arianespace successfully used an Ariane 5 rocket to launch two new communications satellites into orbit for Eutelsat and India. The rocket lifted off from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana on Jan. 16, at 4:05 p.m. EST (6:05 p.m. local time, 2105 GMT). It then deployed the Eutelsat Konnect and GSAT-30 satellites into orbit. See photos of the mission here!
(Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique Video du CSG/JM Guillon)
An Ariane 5 rocket rises between the silhouettes of two palm trees as it lifts off into the cloud-covered evening sky in Kourou, French Guiana, in this photo from Arianespace's first launch of the year.
(Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube)
The Ariane 5 rocket lifted off into a cloud-covered sky, right on time, at 6:05 p.m. local time in French Guiana (4:05 p.m. EST or 2105 GMT).
(Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube)
Smoke billows out from below the Ariane 5 rocket as it lifts off from ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Center.
(Image credit: Arianespace)
An Ariane 5 rocket lifts off from the Guiana Space Center near Kourou, French Guiana, carrying the Eutelsat Konnect and GSAT-30 communications satellites into orbit.
(Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube)
The Ariane 5 rocket soars into space, emerging from a blanket of clouds that obstructed the view for the first minute after liftoff.
(Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube)
The Ariane 5 rocket is seen shortly before its two solid rocket boosters separated.
(Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube)
One of the two solid rocket boosters is seen separating from the rocket in this view from an on-board camera.
(Image credit: Arianespace/YouTube)
Both of the rocket's solid boosters separated successfully after 2 minutes and 21 seconds of flight. Here, they are seen moving away from the rocket's main stage.
(Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon)
The Ariane 5 rocket stands ready for launch at the Guiana Space Center on the evening before its mission.
(Image credit: Arianespace)
(Image credit: Arianespace)
The Ariane 5 rocket is transported from the Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone.
(Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon)
The Ariane 5 rocket is transported from the Final Assembly Building to the ELA-3 launch zone.
(Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon)
The Ariane 5 rocket nears the launch site at the Guiana Space Center's ELA-3 after leaving the Final Assembly Building.
(Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon)
The Ariane 5 rocket arrives at the ELA-3 launch site at the Guiana Space Center.
(Image credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace/Optique video du CSG/P. Baudon)
The Indian Space Research Organisation's GSAT-30 communications satellite is readied for launch.
(Image credit: Arianespace)
The upper composite of the Ariane 5 rocket — composed of Eutelsat Konnect, the SYLDA payload dispenser system and a protective payload fairing — is lowered over GSAT-30 in preparation for launch.
(Image credit: Arianespace)
GSAT-30 is lowered for installation on the Ariane 5 rocket's core stage.
(Image credit: Arianespace)
The Ariane 5 rocket stands ready for launch at the Guiana Space Center's ELA-3 launch site.
(Image credit: Arianespace)
The Ariane 5 rocket stands ready for launch at the Guiana Space Center's ELA-3 launch site.
(Image credit: Arianespace)
The Ariane 5 rocket stands ready for launch at the Guiana Space Center's ELA-3 launch site.
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Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos.
