EU launches its first satellite navigation system

A Russian rocket launched the first two satellites of the European Union's Galileo navigation system Friday after years of waiting for the start of the program billed as the main rival to the ubiquitous American GPS network. The launch of the Soyuz from French Guiana, on the northern coast of South America, marks the maiden voyage of the Russian rocket outside the former Soviet Union, with European and Russian authorities cheering at liftoff. 

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said it is the first time that two teams work together on the launch of the Soyuz. "We have been able to combine the best spacial activity aspects of both governments, that of France and that of Russia," he said. "I am convinced that will yield us good results." (AP)