Inmarsat I-4 up, up and away

Well, in case you were wondering, ILS successfully launched an Atlas V rocket at around 4.42 ET on Friday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, propelling the Inmarsat I-4 satellite skywards. After jettisoning its boosters the rocket ferried the satellite into space where it is now orbiting the Earth. Following a series of checks which will take the best part of a month, the satellite will become operational delivering data and voice services to existing Inmarsat customers.

The rocket launch was, well, phenomenal. A huge fire ball propelled the rocket skywards and within a minute it had disappeared from view leaving the 200 or so guests gazing only at a white trail of smoke.

There will be more on the launch as well as the rumours of a possible IPO for the company on Monday. More here