On Wednesday evening, the Ariane 5 rocket launched into geosynchronous orbit Galaxy XII, the first of three Orbital Sciences satellites built for Wilton, Conn.-based PanAmSat. The rocket left the Guiana Space Center site in Kourou, French Guiana, at approximately 6:52 p.m. (EDT) and was deployed about 39 minutes later into a transfer orbit. Initial communications with the satellite show that it has performed as expected in the early stages of the mission.

Also aboard the dual-payload rocket was the INSAT 3A owned by the Indian Space Research Organisation. That satellite was also successfully deployed.