After a failed maiden voyage and a 24-hour delay, Arianespace successfully launched its Ariane 5 ECA rocket Feb. 12, carrying the Xtar-Eur and two other satellites into orbit. The rocket lifted off from the launch pad at Arianespace’s Kourou, French Guiana, launch facility at 4:03 p.m. EST.

“The launch of the Xtar-Eur represents the birth of a new dimension in satellite services,” Denis Curtin, COO of Xtar LLC said in a prepared statement. “Xtar is designed to provide much needed X-band capacity to the United States and other friendly nations in support of their military and government communications requirements.” Xtar’s first customer for the Xtar satellite is the Spanish Ministry of Defense, which is leasing 238 MHz of X-band capacity. Space Systems/Loral built the satellite.

In other Arianespace news, the company said it signed a contract with Star One to launch its Star One C2 satellite in 2007. The satellite is being built by Alcatel and will be placed into geostationary orbit at 65 degrees West. It will carry 45 C-, Ku- and X-band transponders and will handle direct broadcast television and long distance telephony traffic.