Last Launch of Ariane 5 for 2008 Set for Saturday Afternoon from Kourou

With a launch window of 4:51 PM and 5:50 PM ET Saturday, December 20, the last Ariane 5 launch of year 2008 is to be webcast from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, South America. The readiness of Arianespace’s heavy-lift vehicle will be the sixth of year.

NASA Administrator Mike Griffin told The Baltimore Examiner that "The French/Euro launch vehicle is kicking our butt in the commercial space market. The U.S. used to have more than 90 percent of that market."