An Ariane 5 rocket (opens in new tab) will launch two new satellites for Japan and South Korea today (Feb. 18), and you can watch it live online.
The Ariane 5 rocket, built by the European launch provider Arianespace (opens in new tab), will lift off from the Guiana Space Center (opens in new tab) near Kourou, French Guiana, during a 58-minute launch window that opens at 5:18 p.m. EST (2218 GMT).
Tune in live here at Space.com, courtesy of Arianespace, or watch it on YouTube (opens in new tab). The live webcast should begin about 15 minutes before liftoff.
In photos: Ariane 5 rocket lofts 2 satellites into orbit for Eutelsat, India (opens in new tab)
Riding to orbit on top of the Ariane 5 rocket is the JCSAT-17 communications satellite, which will provide "flexible, high-bandwidth communications to users in Japan and the surrounding region," Arianespace officials said in a statement (opens in new tab). That satellite is owned by the Tokyo-based operator Sky Perfect JSAT.
The other payload is the Earth-imaging satellite GEO-Kompsat-2B, which will monitor our planet's oceans and other environmental factors to provide data for weather forecasters and other scientists. Operated by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, the satellite will work in tandem with GEO-Kompsat-2A (opens in new tab), which launched in 2018.
- In photos: Ariane 5 rocket launches DirecTV 16 and Eutelsat 7C satellites
- In Photos: Ariane 5 launches Intelsat 39 and EDRS-C satellites (opens in new tab)
- Meet Ariane 6 and Vega C: Europe's new 'rideshare' rockets (videos)
Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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