The Ariane 5 rocket takes off, which placed two telecommunications satellites in orbit on February 18, 2020. - Yonhap News / Newscom / SIPA

The Ariane 5 rocket succeeded on Tuesday in placing two telecommunications and environmental monitoring satellites in orbit for Japan and South Korea. It was his third flight for the year 2020.

"Ariane 5 has perfectly succeeded in its mission" indicates a press release from the Center nation d'études spatiales (Cnes). The launcher took off from Kourou (French Guiana) and placed in orbit the GEO-KOMPSAT-2B satellite for the Korean Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), and the JCSAT-17 satellite for the Japanese operator SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation.

Thank you to all of you who livetweeted # Flight252 with us! SureBe sure to come back for the next one! #ArianeGroup pic.twitter.com/OPQBAwVWgb

- ArianeGroup (@ArianeGroup) February 18, 2020

An ocean and environment monitoring mission

The JCSAT-17 satellite, which will cover Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, is the 21st satellite of the Japanese operator to be launched by Arianespace. Its lifespan is estimated at 15 years. GEO-KOMPSAT-2B, 8th satellite launched by Arianespace for South Korea, is to carry out missions to monitor the terrestrial environment and the oceans.

The South Korean satellite is equipped with GOCI II (Geostationary Ocean Color Image), an instrument for observing the color of ocean water, and GEMS (Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer), a geostationary environmental monitoring spectrometer, says Arianespace.

Nine Ariane 5 launches are planned until 2023. In 2020, Ariane 6 will also make its first flight, said André-Hubert Roussel, CEO of ArianeGroup, prime contractor for development, production and operation Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 launchers, in a press release. The executive director also promised "a smooth transition between the two launchers".

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