OREANDA-NEWS. November 02, 2009. This morning Russian launcher Rocket successfully lofted two European satellites. The launch took place at 01:50 UTC (02:50 CET) on Monday 2 November.
  
The second satellite in ESA`s Earth Explorer series – the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission – and the second demonstration satellite under ESA`s Project for Onboard Autonomy (Proba-2) were orbited last night from northern Russia.

Some 70 minutes after launch, SMOS successfully separated from the Rockot`s Breeze-KM upper stage. Shortly after, the satellite`s initial telemetry was acquired by the Hartebeesthoek ground station, near Johannesburg, South Africa. The upper stage then performed additional manoeuvres to arrive at a slightly lower orbit and Proba-2 was released too, some 3 hours into flight.
   
SMOS will play a key role in the monitoring of climate change on a global scale. It is the first ever satellite designed both to map sea surface salinity and to monitor soil moisture on a global scale. It features a unique interferometric radiometer that will enable passive surveying of the water cycle between oceans, the atmosphere and land.
Travelling piggyback on the launch of SMOS, Proba-2 is a follow-on to the highly successful Proba-1 satellite launched in 2001. It will demonstrate 17 advanced satellite technologies –such as miniaturised sensors for ESA`s future space probes and a highly sophisticated CCD camera with a wide angle view of about 120є – while carrying a set of four science instruments to observe the Sun and study the plasma environment in orbit.