The upper composite, which holds the Swarm assembly satellite, is hoisted to the top of the service tower and then onto the lower stages of the Rockot launcher, on 18 November, 2013.
ESA’s Swarm mission is ready for launch on a Russian Rockot on 22 November at 12:02 GMT (13:02 CET), from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. The three-satellite Swarm mission aims to unravel one of the most mysterious aspects of our planet: the magnetic field.
Swarm is ESA’s fourth Earth Explorer mission, following GOCE, SMOS and CryoSat.