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Added on the 17/02/2016 15:09:17 - Copyright : Eyewitness Video Online
A Long March 2-C rocket carrying a satellite jointly developed by China and France lifted off from a space base in Xichang, in southwestern China. The launch took place around 3:00pm (0700 GMT). The satellite, dubbed the Space Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM), will seek out gamma-ray bursts, powerful cosmic explosions that offer clues about the history of the universe. IMAGES
A rocket made by a Japanese company exploded just after launch on Wednesday in Japan's Wakayama. Tokyo-based startup Space One had been aiming to become the first Japanese private firm to successfully place a satellite into orbit. Its 18-meter (60-foot) solid-fuel Kairos rocket blasted off from the startup's own launch pad in Wakayama prefecture in western Japan, carrying a small government test satellite. But seconds after the launch, the rocket erupted into a ball of flame, with black smoke filling the launch pad area. Burning debris was seen falling onto the surrounding mountain slopes as sprinklers began spraying water. IMAGES
General scenery of North Korea seen across the border from South Korea after Pyongyang said it had succeeded in putting a military spy satellite in orbit. IMAGES
From Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the Russian Soyuz 2.1B rocket blasts into space carrying 36 new satellites, from British operator OneWeb. IMAGES
A Russian rocket carrying Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, his production assistant Yozo Hirano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin blasts off from the Baikonur cosmodrome towards the International Space Station. IMAGES
Supporters of Zambian President Lungu hold a rally in Lusaka during a tense presidential race, which has been marked by clashes between rival supporters. The presidential election will take place on Thursday. IMAGES.