aboard Arianespace transport ship MN Toucan. The Toucan docked at the French Guianese town of Kourou on 23 September, and was transported to Guiana Space Centre Ariane 5 Final Assembly Building for final launch preparation.

Launch of XMM took place on 10 December 1999 at 14:32 UTC from the Guiana Space Centre. XMM was lofted into space aboard an Ariane 5 rocket, and placed into a highly