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KOUROU, March 9: An unmanned Ariane rocket successfully put a cargo vessel into orbit on Sunday 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 0403 GMT from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou on the northeast coast of South America carrying a 20 tonne cargo module on top.
The vessel, dubbed “Jules Verne” in honour of the visionary 19th century French science fiction writer, is the first Automatic Transfer Vehicle (ATV) that Europe has committed to its participation in the ISS programme.—Reuters
