The 8.2-tonne payload was the largest ever put into geostationary orbit, 36,000 kilometres (22,400 miles) above the earth's equator, the company said.

The Ariane 5 ECA rocket, a heavy-duty version of the European Space Agency's (ESA) workhorse Ariane 5 series which can carry a payload of up to 10 tonnes, lifted off 2109 GMT and placed Mexico's Satmex 6 and Thailand's Thaicom 5 into preliminary orbits.

It was the second Arianespace launch this year, and the fifth of the Ariane 5 ECA.

The 5.4-tonne Satmex 6 built by the US company Space Systems Loral is designed to help the private operator Satelites Mexicanos (Satmex) reinforce its communications in North and South America for the next 15 years.

The 2.8-tonne Thaicom 5 built by Alcatel Alenia Space will replace an earlier satellite providing telecommunications and television services throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

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