An Ariane rocket has put into orbit two satellites to boost telecommunications after a launch from French Guiana on Friday. Space officials said the Ariane-5 rocket blasted off from the European Space Agency's launch centre in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeast coast of South America at 12.09 in the night.Twenty-seven minutes after the launch, the rocket released INTELSAT 17 for US-based operator Intelsat. The satellite will provide telecommunications throughout Europe, West Asia, Russia and Asia. The satellite weighed 5.5 metric tonnes at launch and is designed to operate in space for 18 years. Seven minutes later the rocket released HYLAS 1, the product of a public-private partnership involving the ESA, EADS Astrium, Avanti Communications of Britain and The Indian Space Research Organisation. HYLAS is the first dedicated high-speed internet satellite for Europe. It targets the estimated 100 million households and businesses mostly in rural areas unable to access fast internet by terrestrial links.