Europe launches record cargo for space station

A record 6.6 tonnes of cargo were hurtling towards the International Space Station after being blasted into orbit by a European rocket from French Guiana.

The space freighter with food, water, oxygen, science experiments and special treats for the ISS astronauts was launched on an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou as planned at 6:52:11 pm (21:52:11 GMT).

The robot craft dubbed Albert Einstein separated from its launcher an hour after liftoff, somewhere over New Zealand, and entered orbit at an altitude of 260 kilometres (160 miles).

Just over half an hour later, it deployed four energy-generating solar panels to start its autonomous navigation, guided by starlight, to the space station.

"This is it. Everything is fine, we have the power, we have the antennas, everything we need to go to the ISS," European Space Agency director general Jean-Jacques Dordain announced at the control centre in Kourou.

The unmanned vessel is set to dock with the ISS on June 15 at an altitude of about 400 kilometres (250 miles) above the planet -- at a speed of some 28,000 kilometres (18,000 miles) per hour.

At nearly 20.2 tonnes, ESA's fourth and penultimate cargo delivery to the ISS is the heaviest spacecraft ever lifted by an Ariane rocket.

It also marked the 55th consecutive succesful launch by an Ariane 5, according to the Astrium space company which builds the lifeline craft.

The robot space freighter is the size of a double-decker bus -- 10 metres (33 feet) long and 4.5 metres (15 feet) in diameter.

It boasts the largest assortment of goods yet brought to the ISS by an Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) -- a total of 1,400 individual items that include clothes, tools and enough food for several months.

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Europe launches record cargo for space station