Two new satellites will be shining in the night sky thanks to Arianespace's Ariane 5 rocket. The Astrium Paradigm Skynet 5B military communications satellite for the British Ministry of Defense, and the Star One C1 commercial communications satellite from Brazilian operator Star One were launched into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) last November 14.

This is the fifth launch this year performed by the Ariane 5 which set a new record on this mission for delivering a payload of more than 8,700 kg. The Ariane 5 is unique with today's commercial launcher services for being able to launch two payloads simultaneously and has proven to customers that Arianespace remains unparalleled in offering its service for both civil and military telecom operators worldwide.

The Skynet 5B satellite aims to offer secure communications service for British armed forces, NATO and other countries. Built by Astrium on behalf of Paradigm, Skynet 5B weighs bout 4,700 kg at launch and will be positioned at 56 degrees East.

The Star One C1 satellite was built by Thales Alenia Space as part of a turnkey contract with Star One. The satellite will provide communications, multimedia, and broadband Internet services for South America. It will be positioned 65 degrees West.

Since the beginning of the year, Arianespace has already signed 12 contracts for launches into GTO, as well as four contracts for low Earth orbit (LEO) launches. To date, it still has the following backlog of orders to fulfill:

• 25 satellites to be launched into GTO, using Ariane 5 and possibly Soyuz for the smaller payloads.
• 11 government launches using Ariane 5, including 9 to launch the ATV cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station.
• 9 specific Soyuz launches (3 in Baikonur via Starsem, 6 from the Guiana Space Center).