The Arianne 5 completed a successful test flight last week from Kourou, French Guiana, officially ending the development phase for the new European launcher.

"The third Ariane 5 flight has been a complete success," said the European Space Agency's director of launchers, Fredrik Engstrom. "It qualifies Europe's new heavy-lift launcher and vindicates the technological options taken by the European Space Agency."

The solid-propellant boosters separated as planned at an altitude of 62 kilometers. The upper stage later propelled the Maqsat 3, a representative mockup of a commercial satellite, towards the planned injection point.

The Ariane 5 will next go into the commercial exploitation phase.