Posted: Fri, Apr 21, 2006, 2:59 AM ET (0659 GMT)
An Atlas 5 rocket successfully launched a European communications satellite Thursday afternoon. The Atlas 5 411 lifted off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral at 4:27 pm EDT (2027 GMT) Thursday. Its payload, the Astra 1KR satellite, separated from the rocket's upper stage one hour and 48 minutes later, after entering a geosynchronous transfer orbit. The satellite, built by Lockheed Martin, is a 4,330-kilogram A2100AX-series spacecraft with 32 Ku-band transponders (28 after its first five years). The spacecraft will operate from 19.2 degrees east in GEO, providing direct-to-home television programming for its operator, SES Astra. The launch is the second of the year for the Atlas 5, and the first commercial Atlas launch in over a year.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  AP article
•  MSNBC article
•  ILS press release
•  Lockheed Martin press release