On December 17, 2011 at 02:30 UTC the Russian "Soyuz-ST-B” rocket-carrier was launched from Kourou Cosmodrome in French Guiana. The rocket equipped with the "Fregat-MT” booster orbited 6 satellites including 4 French micro radar military spy satellites, the French "Pleiades HR1” high-resolution imaging satellite and the Chilean "Fasat-Charlie” Earth-observation satellite.
The launch was the second-ever of the veteran Soyuz rocket from the European Space Agency’s pad in Kourou, following a successful mission to deliver two European Galileo navigation satellites into orbit via another launcher in October. 
