An Ariane 5 ECA launched the Intelsat 20 and Hylas 2 satellites at 2054 GMT on 2 August from the Kourou launch site in French Guiana. Intelsat 20 will be used to provide video, telephone and data transmission services for Europe, Africa, Russia, Asia and the Middle East. Hylas 2 will be used to provide Ka band high speed data services to East and South Africa, the Middle East and the Caucasus.
This launch marks the 50th consecutive successful launch for the Ariane 5. Its last failure was back in December 2002 with the attempted launch of the Hotbird 7 and Stentor satellites.
