A Russian-made Soyuz rocket was launched from Europe’s space base in French Guiana on Monday at 2102 GMT (6:02 p.m. local; 5:02 p.m. EDT) with the Sentinel 1B environmental satellite.
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Hayabusa 2 probe gets a closer look at asteroid amid landing preps
The Japanese Hayabusa 2 spacecraft dropped within a half-mile of asteroid Ryugu last week, probing its gravity field ahead of key decisions in the coming days to settle on a target site for the robotic mission’s first sample collection attempt, and the best touchdown location for a European lander stowed on the mothership.