Question: When is the rocket going into space and how much fuel will it use?

Laurence O'Rourke answered on 3 Mar 2016:

Hi Emma, Rosetta launched in March 2004 on an Ariane 5 Rocket so quite some time ago. That Rocket though is still be used for many different satellite launches and if you like to follow rocket launches you can see a lot on “www.spaceflightnow.com”. The rocket uses generally a mix of liquid oxygen and hydrogen in its main part and then there are two “solid rocket boosters” on each side which effectively are full of powder so when you light the powder there’s no going back. This is why when you watch an Ariane 5 launch, it counts down to zero and then you have 6 seconds where it checks the main engine is working before it fires the powder in the solid rocket boosters. This rocket weighs about 780 tonnes which is made mostly of fuel. It can launch a satellite which weighs 10 tonnes into space.