Super satellite launched

A military communications satellite described as the most advanced in the world has been put into orbit.

The Skynet 4-D satellite will provide a crucial communications link for British peace-keeping troops around the world.

Previous satellites have had to be repositioned in space as forces were redeployed.

The new satellite - the first in a series of three - will only have to change the direction of its antennae.

The satellite is equipped with sophisticated electronics designed to withstand enemy jamming and has also been hardened against a magnetic pulse from a possible nuclear explosion.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service