Posted: Sat, Dec 15, 2007, 9:17 AM ET (1417 GMT)
A Soyuz rocket successfully launched a Canadian radar imaging satellite on Friday. The Soyuz-Fregat rocket lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 8:17 am EST (1317 GMT) Friday, deploying the RADARSAT-2 spacecraft into a Sun-synchronous orbit 53 minutes later. RADARSAT-2 is a powerful radar imaging satellite developed in a partnership between the Canadian Space Agency and MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), which built and will operate the satellite. RADARSAT-2, already delayed several years because of technical problems, was originally planned to launch on a Delta 2 rocket in the US, but the Delta 2's vibration environment, coupled with US concerns about potential military applications of the spacecraft, forced Canada to turn to the Soyuz through a contract with Starsem.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  Vancouver Sun article
•  Space News article (subscription required)
•  CBC article
•  Starsem press release