The Delta II lifted off the launch pad at 12:34 p.m. PST, carrying the Imager Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft. Almost 56 minutes after liftoff, IMAGE separated from the upper stage of the Delta II to insert itself into an orbit 621 by 28,503 miles (1,000 by 45.871 kilometers) above the Earth.

"Boeing is continuing as a partner with NASA in expanding mankind's knowledge of the Earth, our solar system and the surrounding universe," said Darryl Van Dorn, Boeing director of commercial and NASA Delta programs.

"Delta expendable launch vehicles have launched Mars probes for NASA, astronomical observatories, space physics satellites and planetary spacecraft."

The NASA-led IMAGE mission will provide global images of plasmas in the Earth's magnetosphere, showing how they are affected by the intense fluctuating streams of charged particles from the sun, called the solar wind.

Resulting space storms disturb the plant's magnetic field and can damage spacecraft, disrupt communication satellites and cause electrical power blackouts. The principal investigator institution for the IMAGE mission, Southwest Research Institute, contracted Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space to build the spacecraft.

Delta II is a medium capacity expendable launch vehicle derived from the Delta family of rockets built and launched since 1960. The Delta II rocket is manufactured in Huntington Beach, Calif., with final assembly in Pueblo, Colo., and is powered by the RS-27A engine built by Boeing in Canoga Park, Calif. Launch coordination and operations for the NASA mission was provided by the Delta launch team at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Alliant Techsystems, Magna, Utah, builds the graphite epoxy motors for boost assist. Aerojet, Sacramento, Calif., manufactures the second-stage engine; Cordant Technologies, Elkton, Md., supplies the upper stage engine, and L3 Communications Space & Navigation, Teterboro, N.J., builds the guidance and flight control system.

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Satellite Launch To Boost DTH In India
Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005
The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India.