In this image provided Friday April 4, 2014 by the European Space Agency (ESA), the medium-lift VS07 Soyuz rocket lifts off from its launching pad in Kourou, French Guiana, Thursday April 3, 2014. The European Space Agency says it has successfully launched the first in a series of satellites that will form the nucleus of its new Copernicus monitoring system aimed at providing better and quicker information about natural disasters and other catastrophes. AP
KOUROU, FRENCH GUIANA—The Arianespace consortium has successfully launched a rocket that lofted an Earth observation satellite for the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan.
The satellite was carried into orbit by a Vega rocket late Tuesday from the consortium’s spaceport in French Guiana in South America. The rocket’s flight lasted 55 minutes.
Kazakhstan says it will use the satellite to monitor natural and agricultural resources, provide mapping data, and support for rescue operations.
The launch was Arianespace’s fourth mission in 2014.
Arianespace is the commercial arm of the European Space Agency.
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