Europe's space freighter, Johannes Kepler, has lifted off from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket.

The robotic truck is heading to the space station with new supplies of food, air, fuel, and experiments, as well as other equipment. Kepler weighed just over 20 tonnes at launch, making it the biggest payload ever lifted into the sky by an Ariane. It was a historic moment for the rocket, too - the 200th Ariane since the vehicles were initiated in 1979. The launch from the Kourou spaceport occurred at 18hr 50min and 55sec local time (21:50.55 GMT) - the instant needed to put the truck on the right path to catch the International Space Station (ISS) in eight days' time. More

(Source: BBC News - Feb 16)