Press releases - Gmes

Plesetsk/Friedrichshafen, 17 March 2009 – The gravitational field ‘surfer’ GOCE (Gravity-Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer), built under prime contractorship Thales Alenia Space, has been successfully launched into space from Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia. It was brought into orbit by a Rockot launcher provided by Eurockot (a joint ventrure between Astrium and Khrunichev) at 15:21 h CET (17:21 p.m. local time). At 16:53h satellite reached its orbit, separated from Rockot´s upper stage Breeze and send its first signals.