MODEL RELEASED. Cluster II satellite being prepared for launch in a Starsem launch preparation facility at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, in July 2000. The four Cluster II satellites, designed to study Earth's magnetic field interacting with the solar wind, were launched into Earth orbit with Soyuz rockets during 2000. Each satellite, weighing 1.2 tonnes, carries 11 scientific experiments. Cluster II is a European Space Agency (ESA) project. Starsem is a French-Russian consortium that provides commercial launch services.