The World - News from April 2, 1989

A French-built Ariane 2 rocket flawlessly boosted a Nordic television satellite into orbit after a 24-hour delay due to a technical problem. It was the 12th successful launch in a row for the European space program. The 162-foot Ariane was sent aloft from the European Space Agency’s jungle launch complex in Kourou, French Guiana, on the northern coast of South America. Nineteen minutes later, the rocket’s payload, a 2,800-pound television relay station called TELE-X, was deployed. The solar-powered TELE-X, owned by the Nordic Satellite Co. and operated by the Swedish Space Corp., was built to provide direct-broadcast television service to Sweden, Norway and Finland and to serve as a data relay station for business use.