On September 17, 2012 at16:28 UTC the "Soyuz – 2.1a” rocket-carrier was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The rocket equipped with the "Fregat” booster orbited the European "MetOp-B” meteorological satellite. The satellite is the second in a series of three European polar orbiting weather satellites, designed and manufactured by Astrium to provide a broad range of measurements vital to weather forecasting and climate monitoring. The 4100 kg satellite has been designed to operate in orbit for five years.
