The contract to put into orbit the Superbird 7 satellite is the 270th won by Arianespace, the world's biggest satellite launcher, since its creation in March 1980, the French-based company said in a statement released here.

The value of the deal was not disclosed.

The five-tonne satellite, which Mitsubishi Electric will construct for Japanese operator Space Communications Corporation, will be launched in Kourou, French Guiana, on the back of an Ariane 5 rocket in early 2008.

Arianespace has now won 72 percent of contracts for commercial satellite launches in Japan, with 23 out of 32 offered, said Arianespace chief executive Jean-Yves Le Gall.

"When I look at the past, I am optimistic about the future. We will be present in all the commercial contract offers and we will succeed," Le Gall said in Tokyo after the signing of the latest deal.

Mitsubishi Electric is seeking a slice of the lucrative commercial satellite market currently dominated by US and European operators.

The group is already the leading supplier of satellites for Japan's national aerospace programme and also sells components to foreign projects.

Last November it received the first order for a Superbird 7 communications satellite for commercial use.

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