Take a walk around the Ariane 5 launch pad in French Guiana after the 16-story rocket arrived at the complex for liftoff Thursday with four European Galileo navigation satellites.
Read our launch preview for more information on the mission.
Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA–Stephane Corvaja, 2016Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – G. BarbasteCredit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – G. BarbasteCredit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – G. Barbaste
A Russian-built Soyuz rocket lifted off from South America at 0848 GMT (4:48 a.m. EDT) Tuesday with two new navigation satellites for Europe’s Galileo system, readying the network for initial operating capability later this year.
A Vega rocket launched from French Guiana at 0149:24 GMT Tuesday (8:49:24 p.m. EST Monday) with Europe’s fifth Sentinel environmental satellite. The Sentinel 2B observatory will take the pulse of Earth’s vegetation, monitoring crops, forests, urban sprawl, and pollution from polar orbit.
China’s heaviest rocket has rolled to its launch pad for liftoff Thursday with the country’s first Mars landing mission, an ambitious attempt to place an orbiter around the Red Planet and a robotic rover on the Martian surface in early 2021.
