An unmanned satellite housing a European research laboratory has been launched into space by a Russian rocket from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The Integral laboratory will be used to study radioactive gamma rays and black holes. These are regions of space where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape, making them impossible to see.
The satellite is the result of a project which the 15-nation European Space Agency has been preparing since 1989. It is due to remain in orbit for five years.
The launch follows the explosion of another Russian rocket after blast-off from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arctic.
One person was killed and eight were injured on Tuesday night, as a result of the explosion of the unmanned Soyuz-U rocket.
The indebted Russian space agency subsequently defended its ability to meet its obligations to the International Space Station.
