Wednesday's mission was the ninth Ariane rocket launch this year and the 40th consecutive successful launch of an Ariane-4 rocket.
Twenty minutes after liftoff, space officials said the AfriStar satellite weighing 6, 038 pound (2, 739 kg) separated from the Ariane rocket.
Thursday's flawed flight was the first time an Ariane rocket had malfunctioned since Ariane-5's maiden test flight exploded 37 seconds after launch in 1996.
Three minutes later a second satellite, the 3, 743-pound (1, 698-kg) GE-5 television broadcast satellite for New Jersey-based GE American Communications, separated from the Ariane rocket.
KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) -- Western Europe's 113th Ariane rocket is set to launch two satellites on Wednesday including AfriStar aimed at radio broadcasts to Africa.
KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) -- Western Europe's 113th Ariane rocket lifted two communications satellites into orbit for U.S.-based operators after a successful launch from equatorial French Guiana on Wednesday.
The problem with the Ariane rocket also delays the launch of Skynet 5B's co-passenger - a Brazilian satellite called Star One C1 which will deliver broadband internet services to consumers in South America.
Wednesday's flight will use an Ariane 44L rocket equipped with four liquid strap-on boosters, the most powerful version of the Ariane-4 series.
The Ariane 44L rocket equipped with four liquid strap-on boosters -- the most powerful in the Ariane-4 series -- lifted off at 7:16 p.m. local time (2216 GMT) from the European Space Agency (ESA) launch center in Kourou, on the northeast coast of South America.
Europe's Ariane 5 rocket has established itself as the dominant force in the satellite launch market.
Europe's space freighter, Johannes Kepler, has been blasted into orbit by an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana.
With the cryostat path adopted, engineers then set about constructing the largest possible helium vessel they could fit inside an Ariane launch rocket.
An Ariane 5 rocket has been booked to launch Europe's third ATV cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) on 9 March and this mission takes precedence over all other activity at Kourou.
He tells the broadcaster that the Ariane 5 rocket stands "no chance" in the face of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy systems from his own SpaceX outfit, as it's more expensive to use -- and the contrast will only get worse when a cheaper, next-generation Falcon 9 arrives, he says.
ENGADGET: CE-Oh no he didn't!: SpaceX creator Elon Musk says Ariane 5 rocket has 'no chance'
Also aboard the Ariane-4 rocket will be the GE-5 satellite that will provide television services to North America.
In 1996, Europe's Ariane-5 rocket was blown up by ground controllers after it veered off course 40 seconds into its maiden flight.
The mission comes a week after a new generation Ariane-5 rocket was successfully launched from Kourou in its third and final qualification flight.
Early thinking is that this will be a smaller rocket than Ariane 5 with a modular design capable of lifting one satellite at a time weighing from three to 6.5 tonnes.
At the same time, they want to see detailed studies to define the next generation rocket - an Ariane 6.
Vega will take its place alongside its "big brother" at Kourou - the Ariane 5 heavy-lift rocket, and the new medium-lift "Europeanised" Soyuz rocket that has only recently started launching from the spaceport.
Although this vehicle currently dominates the commercial satellite launch market, it is facing increased competition, especially from the US, where a new rocket developed by the Californian SpaceX company is undercutting Ariane sharply on price.
It was the fourth outing for an Ariane 5 in what has been a difficult year for Europe's heavy-lift rocket.
Umbilical connections to the Ariane allow engineers to talk to the spacecraft even though they are closed inside the top of the rocket.
Although its great reliability has helped Ariane achieve a level of dominance in the global market for the launch of large telecommunications satellites, the rocket still requires subsidy from Esa nations.
应用推荐