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The third Ariane 5 launch of the year began at 1954 GMT (3:54 p.m. EDT; 4:54 p.m. local time) from the European-run spaceport in French Guiana. The 1.7-million-pound rocket rose from the ELA-3 launch pad and rapidly streaked through scattered clouds in a rare daytime Ariane 5 blastoff.The white launcher shed twin solid rocket boosters about two-and-a-half minutes later and continued firing its hydrogen-fueled Vulcain 2 engine over the Atlantic Ocean for nine minutes, before its upper stage took over for a 16-minute burn to reach an orbit with a low point of 154 miles, a high point of 22,336 miles and an inclination of 3.5 degrees.The Ariane 5 upper stage next maneuvered into position to deploy Alphasat and INSAT 3D, releasing both payloads less than 33 minutes after liftoff. Ground stations received the first signals from the satellites, verifying their health, officials said.