An unmanned Ariane rocket successfully put a cargo vessel into orbit in Europe's first mission to carry supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), space officials said.
The modified Ariane-5 launcher lifted off at 1:03 a.m. (11:03 a.m. EST on Saturday) from Europe's spaceport in Kourou on the northeast coast of South America carrying a 20 metric ton cargo module on top.
Dubbed the 'Jules Verne' in honor of the visionary 19th century French science fiction writer, the module is the first Automatic Transfer Vehicle (ATV) that Europe has committed to its participation in the ISS program.
"We are embarking on a real voyage," Jean-Jacques Dourdain, director general of the European Space Agency (ESA) said.
Technicians said the ATV, carrying nine tons of freight, had separated from the Ariane rocket over an hour after launch.
The ATV will remain in a "parking orbit" and then is scheduled to dock with the ISS on April 3. The European Space Agency said it has so far spent nearly $2 billion on the ATV program.
