ESA launches automated spacecraft

KOUROU, French Guiana, March 9 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency launched its first-ever automated supply ship from French Guiana Sunday to rendezvous with the International Space Station.

Named after the French science-fiction genre pioneer, Jules Verne, the automated transfer vehicle entered a low Earth orbit to eventually dock with the ISS on April 3, the European Space Agency said in a release.

The launch occurred early Sunday morning from the Space Center in South America using a specially-adapted Ariane rocket to handle the 20-ton payload.

The resupply vehicle will dock with the space station automatically, deliver fuel and other supplies, and leave the station in August burning up in the atmosphere upon its descent.