The London-based Inmarsat company has launched the first spacecraft in what will be a new global telecommunications network for its on-the-move customers.Inmarsat plans to launch up to three further spacecraft in its Ka-band Global Xpress (GX) system, representing an investment of £1bn ($1.6bn).
The initial I-5 F1 satellite was launched from Baikonur in Kazakhstan.
Its Proton rocket left the pad at 18:12 local time (12:12 GMT) on a long flight due to last over 15 hours.