Ariane 5 awaiting launch in French Guiana

Two years after a post-launch failure, the ESA's Ariane 5 rocket system is poised to launch from French Guiana.

According to an article on Reuters, the rocket is outfitted with two payloads: one a Spanish military satellite, and the other a fluids experiment.

CNN is reporting that the Ariane's countdown was stopped 59 seconds before its launch window was to have begun. The rocket was scheduled to lift off sometime between 1949 and 2110 GMT today.

The Ariane 5's last attempted launch ended in failure in December 2002, when the rocket veered off course over the Atlantic and had to be destroyed.