Rosetta takes off at last

2 March 2004

MADRID – The European Space Agency (ESA) began the most complex and ambitious mission in its history Tuesday when it launched the Rosetta lander, which is to chase a comet that it will link up with in 2014.

Rosetta was launched from the Kuru space centre in French Guiana at 0717 GMT.

After cancelling  the launch twice last week, the ESA executed a successful lift-off Tuesday using an Ariane 5 rocket.

Rosetta, a 12-year mission, is expected to go into orbit around the 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko comet and land a probe on its surface that will collect information about the heavenly body’s makeup.

ESA’s 15 members are Germany, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Britain, Sweden and Switzerland.

ESA was founded on 31 May 1975.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news