CryoSat-2 launches successfully

Europe’s first mission dedicated to studying the Earth’s ice was launched today from Kazakhstan. The satellite’s mission is to monitor how the Earth’s ice levels are being affected by world wide global warming and send data back to the ESA (European Space Agency) for processing.

The original CryoSat, which attempted to enter low-Earth orbit in October 2005, unfortunately was lost during the launch as the second stage engine of the modified Russian SS-19 ICBM it was riding on did not cut-off as planned.

The CryoSat-2 satellite was launched at 15:57 CEST (13:57 UTC) on a Dnepr rocket provided by the International Space Company Kosmotras from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Reports received 17 minutes after the launch this time however, confirmed that the separation had completed successfully.