Posted: Wed, Nov 9, 2005, 8:25 AM ET (1325 GMT)
A Soyuz booster launched Europe's first mission to Venus early Wednesday. The Soyuz-Fregat lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:33 pm EST Tuesday (0333 GMT Wednesday), placing the Venus Express spacecraft on an interplanetary trajectory about 90 minutes later, after a pair of burns from the Fregat upper stage. The 1,240-kilogram Venus Express, based closely on ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, will enter orbit around Venus in April 2006. Once there, it will operate for over one year studying the planet's dense atmosphere and clouds. The spacecraft is ESA's first mission to Venus and the first spacecraft sent to study the planet since NASA's Magellan mission 15 years ago.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  SPACE.com article
•  Reuters article
•  BBC article
•  ESA press release