Starsem launches Canada's Radarsat-2.

Starsem successfully launched the Radarsat-2 satellite for MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd on 14 December using a Soyuz launch vehicle from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It was the 1728th launch of a rocket from the Soyuz family, the 11th Soyuz mission in 2007 and the 20th successful Starsem launch.

Radarsat-2 will become the cornerstone of the Canada's next-generation commercial radar satellite system dedicated to environmental monitoring, resource and disaster management and mapping in Canada and around the world. This project represents a collaboration between government and industry. MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. will own and operate the satellite and ground segment. The Canadian Space Agency helps to fund the construction and launch of the satellite and will recover this investment through the supply of Radarsat-2 data to the Government of Canada during the lifetime of the mission.