PARIS, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Three satellites designed and built by Hungary, Poland and Romania were among nine launched into Earth orbit Monday atop a European rocket, scientists said.
The first satellites entirely created by each country were launched by the European Space Agency's small Vega launch rocket from French Guiana, an ESA release reported.
The payload of nine satellites lifted in orbit on the Vega included seven built by European universities.
A collaboration between the ESA and European education programs, the launch of the so-called CubeSats included Goliat from Romania, PW-Sat from Poland and Masat-1 from Hungary.
"Since Vega's first mission was a qualification flight, ESA decided to offer the chance to European universities of a free ride into space for small scientific or educational payloads," Antonio Fabrizi, ESA's director of launchers, said.
Proposals came from universities all over Europe, ESA said in a release from its Paris headquarters.
In addition to the central and eastern European countries, Italy, Spain and France had CubeSats aboard for the Vega launch.
