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ESA books launch of Jupiter orbiter with Arianespace
The European Space Agency has reserved an Ariane launcher to send a spacecraft toward Jupiter in May 2022, and the mission's project manager said Tuesday officials could assign the probe to Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket, assuming the vehicle has a successful debut by the end of 2020.
VideoTwo Soyuz rockets rolled out for launches on different continents
Russian ground crews working in starkly different environments on the barren steppes of Kazakhstan and in the lush jungles of South America are readying a pair of Soyuz rockets for two launches Thursday, one to resupply the International Space Station, and another to broaden the capacity of SES's O3b Internet network.

European weather satellite blasts off from French Guiana
A Russian-built Soyuz rocket launched Tuesday from the Guiana Space Center on the northeastern coast of South America, boosting Europe's MetOp-C satellite into orbit to benefit weather forecasters worldwide and closing out a generation of weather-observing technology.

Live coverage: Soyuz rocket launches from French Guiana with weather satellite
Europe's MetOp-C weather satellite launched aboard a Russian-built Soyuz rocket toward polar orbit Tuesday night from French Guiana, joining an international fleet of meteorological observatories critical for global weather forecasting. Liftoff occurred at 7:47 p.m. EST Tuesday (0047 GMT Wednesday).

Photos: Europe’s MetOp-C weather satellite readied for liftoff
A new European weather satellite is ready for launch Tuesday night aboard a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana, and these photos illustrate the final weeks of the spacecraft's launch campaign.

Soyuz rocket rolls out for launch of European weather satellite
A Russian-built Soyuz booster arrived at its tropical launch pad in South America on Friday and was joined with a European weather satellite for launch Tuesday night.

Ariane 5 launches two satellites on 7-year voyage to Mercury
A powerful European Ariane 5 rocket blasted off from French Guiana late Friday and boosted a pair of satellites into space for a seven-year plunge into the inner solar system, a voyage requiring seven planetary flybys to slow down enough in the sun's gravitational clutches to slip into orbit around hellish Mercury.

Photos: BepiColombo stacked for launch to Mercury
Ground crews at the Guiana Space Center in South America have spent the last few months preparing the BepiColombo spacecraft, a tandem mission with European and Japanese science orbiters bound for Mercury, for launch aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.
VideoLive coverage: Probe heading to Mercury blasts off from French Guiana
The nearly $1.9 billion BepiColombo mission to Mercury jointly developed by the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency lifted off Friday night from French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket. Launch occurred at 9:45 p.m. EDT Friday (0145 GMT Saturday).

Pioneering European winds observatory launched aboard Vega rocket
A European satellite hosting a spaceborne laser crafted to measure winds in Earth's atmosphere rode a Vega launcher into orbit Wednesday from French Guiana, a thundering sendoff for a three-year mission that could improve global weather forecasts.