After a years-long delay, an Earth-observing satellite blasted into space early Friday on a dual mission to improve weather forecasts and monitor climate change.
A Delta 2 rocket carrying the NASA satellite lifted off shortly before 3 a.m. from the central California coast.
The satellite separated from the rocket about an hour after launching, unfurled its solar panels and headed toward an orbit 500 miles above Earth.
NASA invited a small group of Twitter followers to watch the pre-dawn launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, where weather conditions were ideal. Skies were clear and there was little wind.
“It was a thrill to watch the bird go up this morning in the beautiful clear night sky with the stars out there,” Mary Glackin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said at a post-launch news conference.
The satellite joins a fleet already circling the planet, collecting information about the atmosphere, oceans and land.
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