Arianespace launched two satellites into geostationary transfer orbit – the Insat 4a communication satellite for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the MSG-2 weather satellite for Eumetsat – aboard an Ariane 5 Dec. 21. The fifth successful mission of the year for Arianespace lifted off from the company’s Kourou, French Guiana spaceport at 5:33 p.m. EST.

Insat 4A was developed by ISRO in Bangalore, India, and carries 12 Ku-band and 12 C-band transponders to provide telecommunications services primarily to the Indian subcontinent.

MSG-2 is the second Meteosat Second Generation satellite, part of the European program comprising four geostationary weather satellites. The satellite, built by Alcatel Alenia Space, is fitted with 12 observation channels, three in the visible wavelength and nine in the infrared wavelength, and will transmit images every 15 minutes, giving meteorologists an observation and forecasting tool.