Posted: Sun, Dec 2, 2012, 11:26 AM ET (1626 GMT)
A Soyuz rocket lifted off from French Guiana on Saturday night and placed a French imaging satellite into orbit. The Soyuz ST-A rocket lifted off from the European spaceport at Kourou, French Guiana, at 9:02 pm EST Saturday (0202 GMT Sunday) carrying the Pléiades 1B satellite. The rocket's Fregat upper stage released the satellite into its Sun-synchronous orbit 55 minutes after liftoff. The satellite, built by EADS Astrium with an imaging payload provided by Thales Alena Space, will provide high-resolution images for government and commercial users. The launch was delayed a day because of a technical issue with the launcher.

Related Links:

•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  Reuters article
•  RIA Novosti article
•  Arianespace press release