Lift-off for Europe's biggest satellite

Europe's largest and most expensive satellite blasted off today in a perfect launch from the swamps of French Guiana on a mission to monitor the health of the planet.

At 10.07pm local time (1.07GMT this morning) the Ariane Five rocket carrying the 33ft, eight tonne Envisat satellite soared upwards in a perfect trajectory.

Mission controllers followed the rocket as it sped north across the Atlantic and out of sight with its £1.4 billion cargo which was 14 years in the making.

Scientists from the European Space Agency and Canada crossed their fingers as the rocket - which has had three faulty lift-offs in 10 attempts - reached its final altitude of 500 miles high and, freed from its fuel-exhausted rocket, opened its solar panels.

As the satellite circles the planet once every 100 minutes, its 10 instruments will provide the most detailed information yet on how the Earth's land, oceans, ice caps and atmosphere are changing.

They will, for instance, observe ocean currents, the direction and height of waves, and plankton growth, and can measure changes either in land or sea levels of as little as a millimetre over a year.

This wealth of data will be analysed by scientists and inform European policies on the environment.