Ariane rocket orbits UK satellites

By Laurent Marot

KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) - A heavy-lift Ariane-5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana on Wednesday putting into orbit a British military satellite and a Brazilian telecommunications satellite after a series of launch delays, space officials said.

The rocket was launched from Europe's space base in Kourou on the northeast coast of South America at 7:06 p.m. (10:06 p.m. British time).

Initially slated for launch last week, countdown was halted when an anomaly with the rocket's solid boosters was detected.

A second launch attempt on Monday was aborted when problems fuelling the rocket's hydrogen tank developed.

Billed as a cost effective launcher for large satellites, the Ariane-5 is capable of launching payloads of up to 10 tonnes

Arianespace is 28 percent owned by European aerospace giant EADS.

Twenty-seven minutes after the launch, the rocket released a Skynet 5B satellite for the Defence Ministry (MoD).

Built by EADS Astrium, the satellite manufacturing division of EADS, Skynet will provide high-bandwidth communications for British and "friendly" forces across the globe, the MoD said.