An Ariane rocket successfully placed two satellites into orbit on February 18th. One was a scientific mission for South Korea’s Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). The other was a communications craft for Japan’s SkyPerfectJCSAT. It was Arianespace’s third mission this year. JCSAT-17 separated 27 minutes after liftoff and followed by GEO-KOMPSAT-2B which separated four minutes later.

JCSAT-17 for SkyPerfect was built by Lockheed Martin and is the 21st SkyPerfect satellite to be launched by an Arianespace rocket. It will be placed into geostationary orbit to provide high-bandwidth video, broadband and cellular communications services to customers in and around Japan. Among the customers served by this satellite will be NTT Docomo, the Japanese telecommunications company.

“I am thrilled to announce that JCSAT-17 and GEO-Kompsat 2B have been injected as planned into their targeted orbit,” Luce Fabreguettes, Arianespace’s EVP/missions, operations and purchasing, said in a post-launch briefing, adding that the rocket performed “flawlessly.”

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