launch
/lɔːn(t)ʃ/
verb
[with object]
1 Set (a boat) in motion by pushing it or allowing it to roll into the water.
1.2 Send (a missile, satellite, or spacecraft) on its course.
Origin
Middle English variant of Old French lancier (see lance).
==========
NASA launched a "test article" this morning. It rose magestically into the morning sky carrying an Orion command module mockup aloft to test the flight abort systems. Anyone with a speedy web connection could watch live.