Israel launched its second commercial communications satellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan last night.
Live television pictures broadcast on Israeli television showed the lift-off at 21:30 GMT of the Russian Soyuz-Fregat launch vehicle which carried the AMOS 2 satellite into space.
The operation was conducted by Starsem, a European-Russian space launching venture set up in 1996.
AMOS 1, launched in 1996 by Arianespace in French Guiana, was Israel's first communications satellite.
It provides broadcasting services for Israeli and foreign customers in the Middle East and Europe, serving Israeli satellite television company YES as well as US broadcaster HBO in Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania and the Czech Republic.
AMOS 2 will expand capacity and coverage, providing access to the east coast of the United States and offering broadband services in addition to direct-to-home television distribution.