What happens when the satellite is released from the rocket?

The Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) parachuted into the Atlantic Ocean.  From there they were recovered by divers, put onto a barge, and transported to a facility where they were refurbished to be used again for a later mission.

The Ariane 5 rocket releases the satellite into a transfer orbit, which is an elliptical orbit that just clears the atmosphere at 240 km above the earth on its nearest approach (perigee), and goes out as far as about 36,000 km at its farthest point (apogee).  In the orbit-raising phase, the controllers use the satellite’s own propulsion system to boost the orbit to a circular path above the equator, with an altitude of just under 36,000 km.  This is known as the geostationary orbit because in this orbit, satellites orbit the earth at the same rate as the earth rotates, and therefore appear to be stationary when viewed from the earth. This makes it easier for Intelsat to track them with a ground antenna pointing to a fixed point along the geostationary arc .