In the 162nd takeoff of a European launcher from the space centre here, an Ariane 5 rocket put in orbit the lunar explorer and two telecommunications satellites, the Indian INSAT 3-E and the European e-BIRD.

The flight had initially been scheduled for August 28 but was postponed on two occasions in order to allow the Indian Space Research Organisation to carry out extra checks on its satellite before launch.

"It's a superb evening for us, it's remarkable" crowed Arianespace general director Jean-Yves Le Gall. "We launched two satellites plus a lunar probe after a very difficult year," he added, referring to the loss of a 10-tonne Ariane on December 12.

"With this success, everything indicates that our accounts will be balanced in 2003," he went on, with Arianespace expecting five or six launches of Ariane 5 Generic, or standard, rockets and hoping for a resumption of Ariane 10-tonnes (ECA) launches in the first half of 2004.

The updated Ariane-5 ECA, capable of hoisting a 10-tonne payload into orbit, has been placed on ice after the disastrous failed maiden launch last December.

ESA is spending a total of 330 million euros (389 million dollars) to fix the ECA's design flaw, carry out other modifications and conduct two test launches of it.

The latest mission, of critical importance for ESA, was the fourth this year for marketing company Arianespace and the 14th launch of a Generic Ariane 5 rocket.

SMART-1 is the first European satellite to use helio-electric or solar propulsion, combined with lunar gravity.

The probe will not land on the moon, 400,000 kilometres (250,000 miles) away. It will go into an ever wider elliptical orbit around the Earth before approaching its target and being captured by the moon's gravity.

From its lunar orbit it will carry out observations from December 2004, probably for six months or up to a year.

According to David Southwood, ESA director of scientific programs, the probe is the first in a series of Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology, or SMART.

Its task, he said, was to test "several new techniques and instruments that are indispensable for future interplanetary missions."

SMART-1 will help scientists to solve certain enigmas concerning the formation of the moon, its exact mineralogical composition, and whether it contains water and if so in what quantities.

The hidden face of the moon and the polar regions remain largely unexplored. The presence of water on the moon has never been confirmed, despite indirect indications from the US probe Lunar Observer in the 1990s.

The Indian INSAT 3-E will replace INSAT 2-D over a lifespan of 15 years.

The e-BIRD was placed in geostationary orbit for the Paris-based EUTELSAT to supply Internet Protocol liaison services to Europe and Turkey.

SPACE.WIRE