PARIS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- The scheduled launch of an Ariane-5 rocket to put two large broadcasting satellites into orbit was delayed for at least 24 hours Thursday because of strong high-altitude winds, officials said.

"The results of our weather probe prohibited us from trying to launch tonight and we will try to launch tomorrow," Arianespace president Jean-Yves Le Gall said.

The rocket was originally set to be launched from Europe's space base in Kourou on the northeast coast of South America at 2229 GMT.

The Ariane-5 ECA rocket is set to lift the 4.5-ton Astra 1L, providing high-definition TV over Europe for the Luxembourg-based firm SES Astra, and the 4.1-ton Galaxy 17, which will provide TV and communications over North America for Intelsat.

The launch will be Ariane's 176th and the 32nd involving an Ariane 5.