French Space Company Launches 4 Navigation Satellites Aboard Ariane-5 Rocket

France's Ariane-5 rocket has successfully lifted off from the Guiana Space Center (CSG) in French Guiana to send four navigation satellites into space, the Arianespace launch operator said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Flight VA233 carrying satellites designated Galileo 15-18 took off from the CSG at 13:06 GMT.

This is Ariane-5's sixth liftoff from CSG this year, and Arianespace's ninth.

Ariane-5 is manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency (ESA). About 10 years and $7 billion were spent on developing the Ariane 5. The rocket is operated as part of the Ariane program to deliver payloads into a geostationary transfer orbit or low Earth orbit.