Rocket: Ariane 5 ECA; Payload: BepiColombo; Date: 20 October 2018, 0145:28 UTC; Launch site: Kourou, French Guiana. Signals from the spacecraft, received at ESA’s control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, via the New Norcia ground tracking station at 0221 UTC confirmed that the launch into its Earth escape trajectory was successful.