The Mars Express spacecraft with the Beagle 2 on board was launched on 2nd June from Kazakhstan. For this mission the European Space Agency (ESA) chose to use the Soyuz / Fregat launch package. Since the Russians first unveiled their Soyuz rocket in 1963, they have used this type of rocket in over 1500 launches with very few failures.On the day of the launch scientists involved in the project gathered at locations around Europe to watch the live broadcasts from Kazakhstan. In London the Beagle project team hosted a launch party to promote the event and celebrate bringing Beagle this far. I was fortunate enough to be invited to this event and would like to thank the project team for the opportunity to attend.
The launch was scheduled for 19:45 (CET) / 18:45 (BST). Members of the Beagle team and the media gathered at the BT centre to witness the start of Britain's first venture into planetary exploration. With half an hour to go the auditorium was packed and the first live pictures of the Kazakhstan launch pad appeared on the big screens. For the members of the project team these pictures must have brought about mixed emotions... Pride in what they had achieved together with anxiety at seeing the fruit of their labours, an ingenious little remote control laboratory, perched on top of a rocket brimming with highly flammable fuel... and somebody was about to light the fuse.
The project leader Professor Colin Pillinger seemed surprisingly at ease for somebody who was about to see 5 years of hard labour hurled into space with all the dangers that entails.
As the final seconds ticked away and the witching hour approached, all eyes were on the big screen. The support towers at the launch pad peeled away and flame and smoke bellowed as the main engines fired. For a few moments the Soyuz rocket disappeared from view behind the smoke.There was an anxious wait before the top of the rocket re-appeared heading into the Kazakhstan night sky.In the auditorium it was cheers, applause and big smiles all round. The Mars Express and Beagle were on their way to the red planet.
