A European Ariane rocket blasted off Friday night and placed the world's largest telecommunications satellite into orbit.

The 44-L rocket lifted off from the European Space Agency center on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America.Less than a half-hour later, Arianespace, a consortium of 11 European countries, said the Intelsat VI satellite had been placed into orbit.

In the coming days, the satellite is to move into position over central Africa to enter service with the Intelsat network of 13 satellites.

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