Kourou/Paris  - With its ninth successful rocket launch mission in 12 months, European space company Arianespace appears set to establish itself as a world market leader in satellite transport.

Ariane 5 ECA rocket took off from the launch centre in Kourou in French Guiana on Thursday night to place communication satellites Superbird-7 and AMC 21 into orbit.

"I think it is a perfect illustration of the fact that high performance, reliability and increase of pace can go hand-in-hand," said Arianespace chairman and CEO Jean-Yves Le Gall.

In the last 12 months, the rocket has transported 16 civilian and military satellites and the European ATV space transporter into space.

The Ariane 5 has become "a reference" worldwide, said Yannick d'Escatha, the President of the French space agency CNES, adding that Europe had the capacity to become "a major global space power."

The Mitsubishi-built Superbird-7 is the first commercial satellite produced by Japan. Tha AMC-21 was built by Europe's Thales Alenia Space and Orbital Sciences for the US-based company AMERICOM to be used for television and data transmission in North America.

The mission was the 27th successive Ariane 5 launch and the fifth of seven scheduled for this year. The Ariane 5, built by the Astrium space subsidiary of EADS, Europe's leading aerospace company, is the only commercial rocket launcher with the capacity to carry two satellites at a time. (dpa)