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.

Read more about this new space mission right after the jump!

The European Space Agency (ESA) has plans to launch Automated Transfer Vehicles or ATVs to the International Space Station. These vehicles will bring supplies to the station such as food, water and fuel as well as equipment and additional experiments.

The first one of these ATVs is named Jules Verne. The other day, the ATV finally began the journey to its launch site in Kourou, French Guiana after a thorough final testing at the European Space and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Jules Verne is expected to launch around early 2008. Aside from the above-mentioned supplies, Jules Verne will also be carrying an MP3 player for the space station crew loaded by songs from the winner of a recent ESA contest.

The ATV is not just a normal transport vehicle, too. It's also capable of boosting the space station's orbit through its engines. When it leaves the International Space Station six months after, it will be carrying a cargo of waste and will finally burn up in the atmosphere.