We have posted a spectacular series of launch photos, and you can relive this morning's successful blastoff in a video replay from ESA.

The first Vega rocket climbed away from a tropical spaceport in South America on Monday, successfully injecting nine satellites into orbit and inaugurating a new capability in Europe's growing launcher family.

"A new member of the launcher family has been born," said Jean-Jacques Dordain, director-general of the European Space Agency. "Today is the first day of a new operational life, which doubtless will be a long and successful one. Vega is a launcher that's necessary for us at ESA. We've already reserved six launches."

The 98-foot-tall booster is aimed at Europe's institutional market, and officials say it will offer government science satellites an affordable, indigenous option for getting into space. Vega joins the stalwart Ariane 5 launcher, one of the most powerful rockets in the world, and a "Europeanized" version of Russia's Soyuz launcher at the Guiana Space Center, a spaceport in French Guiana.

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"A new member of the launcher family has been born," says Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's director-general. "Today is the first day of a new operational life, which doubtless will be a long and successful one. Vega is a launcher that is necessary for us at ESA."

ESA is confirming a good separation of all the satellites.

The AVUM stage has shut down, sparking a round of hugs and applause inside the Jupiter control center at the Guiana Space Center following this apparently successful qualification flight of the Vega launcher.

Officials await confirmation of separation of ALMASat 1, an Italian technology demo spacecraft, and seven CubeSats, which include:

   e-St@r - Developed by the Polytechnics Institute of Turin in Italy, e-St@r willtest an active determination and control subsystem for 3-axis control as well as a set of commercial components and materials.

   Goliat - Developed by the University of Bucharest in Romania, Goliat will perform Earth imaging with a 3-megapixel digital camera and conduct measurements of radiation and micrometeoroids in low-Earth orbit. This is Romania's first satellite.

   MaSat 1 - Developed by the Budapest University of Technology and Economics in Hungary, MaSat 1 will demonstrate a power conditioning system, a transceiver and an onboard data handling system. This is Hungary's first satellite.

   PW-Sat 1 - Developed by the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland, PW-Sat 1 will deploy a solar sail as a drag augmentation device in order to accelerate the removal of picosatellites at the end of their missions. This is Poland's first satellite.

   Robusta - Developed by the University of Montpellier in France, Robusta will study the effect of radiation on electronic components based on bipolar transistors for comparison with its own degradation models.

   UniCubeSat GG - Developed by the GAUSS astrodynamics group of the Sapienza University of Rome, UniCubeSat GG will deploy two booms to demonstrate gravity-gradient stabilization on a picosatellite. Each boom will carry a solar panel at its end to generate electrical power.

   Xatcobeo - Developed by the University of Vigo in Spain, Xatcobeo will test a software-defined reconfigurable radio and an ionizing radiation measurement system. It will also test a solar panel deployment system.

Vega's signal has been acquired by the McMurdo tracking station in Antarctica.

The AVUM fourth stage is firing for the third and final time in this morning's flight.

Vega's AVUM fourth stage will ignite once more at 1106 GMT (6:06 a.m. EST) to lower the perigee of its orbit from 900 miles to 217 miles altitude. Then the rocket will deploy ALMASat 1, a 27-pound technology demonstration satellite from the University of Bologna in Italy.

Seven CubeSats from European universities will also separate from their launch packages.

LARES separation! Italy's Laser Relativity Satellite has been released in orbit as Vega passes above the Perth tracking station in Australia.

Resembling a disco ball, LARES is covered with 92 laser retroreflectors, allowing a network of ranging stations around the world to track the spherical satellite in orbit. It is carved out of a sphere of tungsten.

By bouncing laser signals off reflectors on LARES, scientists can precisely compute its position in space. After comparing the actual location of LARES against predictions, researchers can measure the frame-dragging effect, part of Einstein's theory of general relativity which states that a rotating mass can distort space-time around it.

T+plus 52 minutes, 20 seconds. The AVUM engine has shut down on time, and the stage will now re-orient to deploy the 881-pound LARES satellite.

T+plus 48 minutes, 15 seconds. Ignition of the AVUM stage's RD-869 engine confirmed to circularize the rocket's altitude at 900 miles. This burn will last 4 minutes, 3 seconds.

Vega continues to function normally as it approaches the next phase of the mission, which will inject Italy's LARES satellite into a 900-mile-high orbit. The second firing of the fourth stage is about eight minutes away.

The second ignition of the AVUM engine is set for 1048 GMT (5:48 a.m. EST; 7:48 a.m. French Guiana time). All systems still normal as the launcher passes in range of the Svalbard tracking station in Norway.

No surprises reported so far in today's mission.

T+plus 9 minutes, 20 seconds. The RD-869 engine, provided by Yuzhnoye of Ukraine, has switched off following a successful first burn. Two more AVUM firings are on tap in today's mission before it's over.

T+plus 8 minutes. Now 242 kilometers over the Atlantic Ocean, the AVUM fourth stage is 45 seconds away from completing its first burn.

T+plus 6 minutes, 10 seconds. Shutdown of the third stage motor and ignition of the AVUM fourth stage's Ukrainian engine to inject the Vega into a temporary transfer orbit. Altitude is 193 kilometers and velocity is 7.75 kilometers per second.

T+plus 4 minutes. The clamshell-like payload fairing has been jettisoned.

T+plus 3 minutes, 45 seconds. The Zefiro 23 seconds stage has burned out and separated, giving way to the third stage Zefiro 9A motor, which is now firing at an altitude of 140 kilometers. Velocity is now 3.9 kilometers per second.

T+plus 2 minutes. First stage shutdown and separation confirmed after consuming 194,000 pounds of solid propellant, and Vega's Zefiro 23 second stage has ignited.

T+plus 1 minute. Now approaching 50,000 feet high, Vega has surpassed the region of maximum aerodynamic pressure. The first stage P80 motor continues firing well.

T+plus 31 seconds. The 98-foot-tall launcher has exceeded Mach 1, flying at an altitude of more than 15,000 feet.

LIFTOFF! The Vega launcher has blasted off from Europe's jungle spaceport in French Guiana, inaugurating a new rocket for small research satellites.

T-minus 1 minute and counting.

T-minus 4 minutes and counting. The synchronized launch sequence has begun for the Vega's final countdown. This computer-controlled sequence monitors thousands of parameters in the countdown's last moments, ensuring all systems are ready for flight.

T-minus 9 minutes and counting. The LARES payload, which includes a number of sensors to monitor the environments of Vega's first launch, is now reported to be on internal power.

T-minus 10 minutes and counting. All systems remain green on the status board for an on-time blastoff at 1000 GMT (5 a.m. EST; 7 a.m. local time). It is just after sunrise in French Guiana.

We are now streaming live video from the Guiana Space Center as the countdown enters the final 20 minutes.

The synchronized launch sequence takes over the countdown about four minutes prior to liftoff. The computer-controlled final sequence checks thousands of parameters in the final steps of the countdown.

After liftoff, Vega will clear the pad's four lightning towers and pitch northeast from the Guiana Space Center, heading over the Atlantic Ocean and surpassing the speed of sound in 31 seconds.

The Vega's solid-fueled P80 first stage, producing a maximum of 683,000 pounds of thrust, burns out 115 seconds after liftoff, giving way to the launcher's Zefiro 23 second stage at an altitude of 37 miles.

After an 87-second burn, the second stage consumes its propellant 3 minutes, 22 seconds after launch and separates. The Vega's third stage, the Zefiro 9A motor, ignites 3 minutes, 38 seconds into the mission.

Five seconds later, Vega's 8.5-foot-diameter payload fairing will jettison.

Vega's third stage fires for 129 seconds, turning off and separating 5 minutes, 47 seconds after liftoff.

The fourth stage, known as AVUM, ignites its liquid-fueled Ukrainian engine 5 minutes, 54 seconds into the mission, burning for nearly three minutes to reach a transfer orbit above Earth.

After coasting for nearly 40 minutes, the AVUM fourth stage will fire again to reach a circular 900-mile-high orbit with an inclination of 69.5 degrees.

Separation of the LARES payload, an Italian physics research satellite, is expected 55 minutes, 5 seconds into the flight.

Another firing of the AVUM fourth stage will reduce the altitude of the low side of the launcher's orbit to 217 miles before releasing the mission's other eight passengers beginning 70 minutes, 35 seconds after liftoff.

For more details, check out the launch timeline.

T-minus 22 minutes and counting. The downrange network of tracking stations is reported to be ready.

There continue to be no problems reported in the countdown for launch of Vega this morning. Liftoff is set for 1000 GMT (5 a.m. EST; 7 a.m. local time) from French Guiana.

Development of Vega over the last 11 years cost European governments and industry 786 million euros, or more than $1 billion.

Italy is the largest contributor to the lightweight booster, funding more than 58 percent of Vega's budget. France was the second-largest partner, responsible for 25 percent of the work.

Five other ESA member states participated in the Vega program, including Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden.

European officials say the Vega program is aimed at the institutional market for research satellites, particularly Earth observation spacecraft. Many ESA remote sensing payloads now launch on Russian rockets, which are composed of retired Soviet-era ballistic missile stages.

If today's flight goes as planned, the next flight of Vega is scheduled for early 2013. But the payload for that mission has not been identified.

Officials confirm the 16-story mobile gantry is now in its launch position about 260 feet from the rocket.

The launch window has been adjusted again, this time to three hours in length. The Vega launcher now has until 1300 GMT (8 a.m. EST; 10 a.m. local time) to lift off this morning.

The European Space Agency reports weather is "green" and all systems are go for launch this morning. The launch window opens at 1000 GMT (5 a.m. EST; 7 a.m. local time).

So far in the countdown, Vega's systems have been powered on and launch controllers have checked communications, tracking and command links between the rocket and ground facilities at the Guiana Space Center.

The 270-square-mile space center, run by the French space agency, CNES, and the European Space Agency, is located on the jungle coastline of French Guiana, situated on the northeast corner of South America.

The Vega launch pad, known by its French acronym ZLV, is about 1 kilometer southwest of the Ariane 5 launch complex. It was built on the former site of ELA-1, the home of Ariane 1, Ariane 2 and Ariane 3 launchers from 1979 until 1989.

Construction of the Vega launch pad began in 2004, including the building of a new 16-story mobile gantry weighing some 1000 metric tons. A fixed umbilical mast standing 105 feet tall provides air conditioning to the Vega's payload.

Workers also added four lightning towers at the pad to protect the Vega rocket from thunderstorms.

Unlike the Ariane 5 rocket, the Vega's stages are stacked on the pad inside the mobile gantry, which provides protection of the launcher from weather at the spaceport.

Vega's countdown is managed from Guiana Space Center's prime control center less than a mile from the launch pad, the same building where Ariane 5's countdown is controlled.

Senior launch officials Saturday approved continuing final preparations for liftoff of Europe's Vega rocket, a four-stage launcher on the cusp of its first flight from French Guiana.

The 98-foot-tall launcher has two-and-a-half hours to lift off Monday, 30 minutes longer than previously announced by the European Space Agency. The window opens at 1000 GMT (5 a.m. EST; 7 a.m. French Guiana time).

Its payload fairing houses nine satellites, including an Italian laser reflectiviy craft designed to probe Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. Eight smaller passengers were built by European universities.

The weather outlook for Monday morning calls for mostly cloudy skies, a slight chance of rain and light winds.

The countdown will get underway at 0215 GMT (9:15 p.m. EST; 11:15 p.m. local time) with functional checks of ground and flight systems. One hour later, engineers will check command and communications links between the launcher and ground facilities.

Systems on the Vega rocket will be powered on beginning at 0425 GMT (11:25 p.m. EST; 1:25 a.m. local time).

The Vega's inertial navigation system will be aligned for launch at 0540 GMT (12:40 a.m. EST; 2:40 a.m. local time), and the launch pad's 16-story mobile service gantry will be retracted to the launch position beginning at 0720 GMT (2:20 a.m. EST; 4:20 a.m. local time).

For more details, check out the countdown timeline.

Scheduled for launch from French Guiana on Monday, Europe's first lightweight Vega rocket is packed with nine small research satellites, including a unique Italian craft designed to help make an elusive accurate measurement of a central tenet of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Officials selected LARES as the main passenger for the rocket's qualification flight, which aims to prove Vega's flight and ground systems before it is entrusted with more costly payloads on subsequent missions.

Carved out of a single ball of tungsten, LARES is covered 92 laser retroreflectors, allowing a network of ranging stations around the world to track the spherical satellite in orbit.

By bouncing laser signals off reflectors on LARES, scientists can precisely compute its position in space. After comparing the actual location of LARES against predictions, researchers can measure the frame-dragging effect, part of Einstein's theory of general relativity which states that a rotating mass can distort space-time around it.

Read our full story.

The first launch of Europe's new solid-fueled Vega rocket has been set for Feb. 13, officials announced Friday.

The 98-foot-tall launcher will take off from the Guiana Space Center, the European-run spaceport on the northeast coast of South America. The Vega will haul an Italian space agency research satellite into a 900-mile-high orbit.

The two-hour launch window opens at 1000 GMT (5 a.m. EST). Liftoff is timed for 7 a.m. local time in French Guiana, a few minutes before sunrise there.

The Vega has only a few days to blast off before European officials must suspend the launch campaign to make room for the next Ariane 5 rocket mission, a heavy-lifting flight with an Automated Transfer Vehicle carrying important supplies and propellant for the International Space Station.

The Vega may only have until around Feb. 15 to launch before waiting until mid-March, according to a spokesperson with Arianespace, the commercial operator of the Ariane, Soyuz and Vega launchers at the French Guiana space base.

Both rockets use the same downrange communications and tracking assets, but because the Vega and Soyuz are launching into different orbits, the network must be reconfigured, a process that takes several weeks.

Fueling of the Vega's fourth stage with storable propellant still must be completed, along with several reviews culminating in the launch readiness review two days before liftoff.

Vega's development, led by Italy, cost more than $1 billion since European space ministers approved the program in 1998. European Space Agency member states decided to appropriate funding for the new launcher in 2000.

The four-stage rocket is aimed at the European institutional market, hauling lightweight space science and Earth observation satellites into orbit for the continent's government agencies and universities.

Check out photos of the hoisting of Vega's payload and the first views of the fully integrated Vega rocket.

Workers finished assembling the first Vega rocket in South America last week, adding two Italian satellites and seven small CubeSat payloads to Europe's new light space launcher.

The milestone sets the stage for final flight preparations, reviews and rehearsals leading to the opening of the mission's launch window Feb. 9, according to the European Space Agency.

Vega's upper composite, which includes the rocket's payloads and nose fairing, was hoisted atop the four-stage launcher Jan. 24. The launch team in French Guiana completed a countdown rehearsal Jan. 26, and another practice countdown is scheduled for Feb. 1, according to ESA.

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