We’re going back to Mercury! . . .eventually.
The BepiColombo spacecraft launched October 19th, at 9:45:28 p.m. EDT, atop an Ariane 5 rocket from an equatorial launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, beginning a seven-year journey to Mercury.
The voyage began perfectly, atop towering pillars of flame that lit up the early morning sky and remained visible until the side boosters burned out 2 minutes later, leaving the steady light of the main rocket stage visible as a greenish point in the sky.
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