A Soyuz-FG medium-class launch vehicle took off from Baikonur cosmodrome at 9:45 pm (Moscow time) Monday, carrying the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft.
The press service of the Russian Space Forces said the launch proceeded without a hitch, according to Interfax news agency.
Mars Express is expected to reach Martian orbit in half a year, after which the Beagle-2 lander will separate from it. It will study the surface and environment of the Red Planet for 180 days, while Mars Express examines it from orbit.
(Xinhua News Agency June 3, 2003)
