Originally slated to launch on July 4th, 2008 this Arianespace Ariane-5 rocket ended up launch on July 7th, 2008 at 6:47pm local time in French Guiana.
Twenty-seven minutes after its launch f the rocket released ProtoStar 1 the first satellite for the new U.S.-based telecommunications company ProtoStar. Eight minutes later, the rocket released a BADR-6 satellite for Arabsat, the 21-nation telecommunications group of the Arab League, that is designed for direct television broadcasting to the Middle East and North Africa.