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Ariane-5 with 2 satellites to lift off from Kourou center Dec. 11

RIA Novosti

19/11/2008 18:28 MOSCOW, November 19 (RIA Novosti) - An Ariane-5 rocket with two communications satellites will be launched from the Kourou space center in French Guiana on December 11, the Russian space agency said Wednesday.

"The sixth launch of an Ariane-5 rocket this year is planned from the Guiana space center December 11 between 0:35 and 01:45 a.m. Moscow time [21:35-22:45 GMT December 10]. The insertion into orbit of two satellites HOT BIRD TM-9 and W2M will be made for the European communications and satellite television operator Eutelsat," Roscosmos said.

Kourou is located in French Guiana 50 km (31 miles) from the town of Cayenne on the Atlantic coast of South America.

The European Space Agency launch facility is mainly used to launch geostationary satellites into orbit. The first launch of a Russian Soyuz-ST rocket from Kourou is due in late 2009.

The center's proximity to the equator will make it possible for the modernized Russian rocket to orbit heavier satellites than from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan and Plesetsk in northern Russia.