A Soyuz rocket lifted off from Kazakhstan on Monday and delivered Europe's newest weather satellite into polar orbit, reinforcing the meteorological toolkit of forecasters around the world.

The commercialized Soyuz 2-1a booster launched at 1628 GMT (12:28 p.m. EDT), turned north from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and climbed into a dark sky on the way to orbit with the second of three MetOp weather observatories for Eumetsat, the European weather satellite agency.

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MetOp B's solar array has been deployed and is in the right position to begin charging the satellite's batteries.

Engineers at the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt, Germany, confirm MetOp B has separated from the Fregat upper stage and is responding to commands from the ground.

Officials confirm both burns of the Fregat upper stage were completed as planned.

The Fregat upper stage should now be in a coast period before an engine firing to place MetOp B into a circular orbit more than 500 miles in altitude.

Spacecraft separation is expected around 1737 GMT (1:37 p.m. EDT).

Officials from the European Space Agency confirm the first, second and third stages of the Soyuz rocket each did their job in today's launch, leaving the Fregat upper stage to fire twice to inject MetOp B into the planned orbit.

The Soyuz rocket has lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome with MetOp B, beginning a 69-minute mission to deliver the 4.5-ton satellite into orbit more than 500 miles high.

Europe's next polar-orbiting weather satellite will ride a Soyuz rocket into orbit from Kazakhstan on Monday, joining a fleet of international observers dedicated to improving global weather forecasts.

The MetOp B satellite is fastened inside the 13.5-foot-diameter nose cone of a Soyuz 2-1a rocket, and officials are counting down to liftoff at 1628 GMT (12:28 p.m. EDT) Monday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, where it will be 10:28 p.m. local time.

Read our launch preview story.

And check out photos of the Soyuz rocket being installed on the launch pad Friday.