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A Soyuz-Fregat rocket has lifted off from the Russian space base at Baikonur, Kazakhstan, bearing a large European weather satellite, according to the European Space Agency (ESA), which broadcast the event.
The rocket carrying the 4.1-tonne satellite MetOp-A lifted off Thursday at 1628 GMT to be placed in an 850-kilometer (531-mile) orbit around the poles, AFP reports.
Five previous attempts to launch the new-generation satellite since July had been thwarted by technical hitches and poor weather.
MetOp-A is billed as the most sophisticated Earth-observation satellite ever built, with 13 instruments to record temperature, humidity, wind speed and ozone cover across the globe, monitor the environment in space and listen out for signals from ships and aircraft in distress.
Europe
