Skymania flew to Kourou in French Guiana last week to witness an important launch from Europe’s space centre – and we were not disappointed. ArianeSpace’s heavy-lifter, a giant Ariane 5, blasted off bang on time, delivering two important satellites into orbit. 

Ariane 5 rockets skyward. Photo: Paul Sutherland

The European Space Agency decided to put its launch site in French territory close to the equator, a latitude from which rockets can carry 20 per cent more load than from Florida.

One satellite being launched was Intelsat 17, the latest in a long line. The other had a lot riding on it. Hylas-1 was the first satellite for a start-up company, Avanti Communications, that would deliver broadband to rural areas of Europe. It was also ESA’s first experience of a private-public partnership

Built in Portsmouth for Astrium UK, Hylas was assembled in an off-the-shelf satellite shell in India before being transported to Kourou to be loaded on its powerful rocket.

Launch day started early as we all left our hotels at 7am for a series of briefings at Mission Control. There followed a tour of the space centre including a fairly close look at the Ariane 5 waiting for launch and a new site from which veteran Russian Soyuz rockets, which in the past have flown from Baikonur in Kazakhstan, will fly missions into space.

After lunch, we headed to watch the launch, scheduled for 3.39pm local time, with guests sent either to the control room or the outdoors Toucan viewing site just 4km from the rocket tower.

I am glad to say that we chose the Toucan site, on the recommendation of the BBC’s Jonathan Amos, though he had apparently been there three times to watch a launch and it was called off each time.

As the time ticked down, we were all aware that there could be temporary delays and a three-hour window in which the rocket could be launched before which everything would be put on hold until the next day.

But amazingly, there were no delays. Suddenly we heard the countdown over the loudspeakers – 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – and realised that this bird was going to fly dead on time.

For a split second the rocket seemed to sit there undisturbed. Then a plume of smoke and steam could be seen spilling from one side before the Ariane lifted its 800-ton weight on a brilliant flame and sped heavenwards.

Never having seen a launch before, I was prepared for a low ground-shaking rumble that would hit us a few seconds after the visible launch. But there was an altogether different sound of the Ariane spitting fire as it rapidly ascended into a clear blue sky.

We followed it atop a curved column of distorting smoke before there was a brilliant explosive flash as the now distant rocket shed its two attached boosters.

Hylas will deliver high-speed broadband to individuals and businesses in rural areas that can’t be reached by usual cable or land-line services. But Avanti Communications aim to keep the service affordable at around £25 a month to private users.

Hylas stands for the Highly Adaptable Satellite. It is so powerful that it can be used by between 150,000 and 300,000 users at any one time.

A delighted Mr Williams said his company would help bridge the digital divide. where 10 per cent of households in European countries were unable to get broadband.

• Discover space for yourself and do fun science with a telescope. Here is Skymania’s advice on how to choose a telescope. We also have a guide to the different types of telescope available. Check out our monthly sky guide too!