A Soyuz rocket launched Friday with four commercial satellites to expand broadband Internet coverage in remote parts of the world, climbing into orbit from the Guiana Space Center positioned on the northeastern shore of South America.<\/p>\n
The Russian-made rocket lifted off at 1710:06 GMT (12:10:06 p.m. EST; 2:10:06 p.m. French Guiana time) Friday after a 33-minute hold to wait for improved weather conditions.<\/p>\n
The Soyuz rocket\u2019s engines, fed by kerosene and liquid oxygen, steered the booster east from the European-run spaceport in South America, guiding it on a trajectory over the Atlantic Ocean as it soared into space with four O3b broadband communications satellites.<\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s launch was the 18th flight of a Soyuz rocket from the Guiana Space Center under the auspices of a Russian-European partnership with oversight from Arianespace, the commercial company which manages, operates and markets Ariane 5, Soyuz and Vega launches from French Guiana.<\/p>\n
Read our full story for details on the mission.<\/p>\n
The video and images below show the Soyuz rocket\u2019s liftoff from French Guiana with the fourth quartet of O3b broadband satellites for SES.<\/p>\n