Posted: Wed, Jun 5, 2002, 9:03 AM ET (1303 GMT)
An Ariane 4 booster successfully launched the Intelsat 905 communications satellite early Wednesday. The Ariane 44L, the version of the Ariane 4 that uses four liquid-propellant strap-ons, lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana at 2:44 am EDT (0644 GMT). It successfully placed into a geosynchronous transfer orbit Intelsat 905, a Space Systems/Loral 1300-series spacecraft. Intelsat 905 will be positioned at 24.5 degrees west, replacing Intelsat 603, which will be moved to 178 degrees east. The launch is the seventh this year for Arianespace, with the eighth, an Ariane 5 launch of two communications satellites, tentatively scheduled for late June.

Related Links:

•  Arianespace press release
•  Intelsat press release
•  SPACE.com article
•  AFP article