A Russian Soyuz rocket carried 38 satellites from 18 different countries into space on Monday, including the first one designed to scoop up space debris.
The rocket took off in the morning from the Baikonur space port in Kazakhstan, according to a live stream by Russian space agency Roscosmos.
The rocket launch was originally planned for Saturday, but Roscosmos delayed it twice, without giving the specific technical reason.
The satellites carried by the Soyuz rocket include a Japanese device called ELSA-d, which is meant to collect space debris from disused satellites for the first time.
Manufacturers say ELSA-d can help enable “safe and sustainable space for the benefit of future generations.”
Many of the space craft aboard the rocket, including by Saudi Arabia and South Korea, are to be used for Earth observation, collecting images and data of our planet to be sent back to ground stations.
Roscosmos said they are smaller satellites of different formats, weighing up to 200 kilograms, which are to be brought into different orbits.
The countries represented include Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, Brazil, Canada, Israel and Britain.