Ariane 6 successfully lifts off from French Guiana

A European Ariane 6 rocket blasted off from France's Kourou space base in French Guiana on Tuesday night, carrying a new environmental monitoring satellite, an AFP correspondent said.

Lift-off was at 6:02 pm local time (2102 GMT) and is the third commercial flight of the Ariane 6 launch system since the expendable rockets came into service last year.

The rocket was carrying a Sentinel-1D satellite manufactured by Thales Alenia Space as part of the Copernicus programme, the Earth observation component of the European Union space programme.

It is equipped with an advanced radar instrument that enables it to capture images of the Earth's surface under any weather conditions, including through clouds, allowing it to send observation data at any hour of the day or night.

The satellite, which weighs more than two tonnes, was set to be placed in orbit at an altitude of 693 kilometres (431 miles).

Separation of the launcher and the satellite was due to take place 33 minutes and 51 seconds after lift-off.