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Penultimate Delta 2 rocket launch lofts advanced polar-orbiting weather satellite


Penultimate Delta 2 rocket launch lofts advanced polar-orbiting weather satellite A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket climbed into space Saturday from California with a $1.6 billion polar-orbiting weather satellite for NOAA, the first of four upgraded observatories designed to keep vital meteorological data flowing to forecasters for the next two decades. The government-owned weather sentinel was deployed into orbit more than 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth by the Delta 2 rocket to begin a seven-year mission. The successful launch was the second-to-last flight of a Delta 2 rocket, but it also signaled a beginning for NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System, a multi-spacecraft program established in 2010 under civilian leadership after the cancellation of an over-budget joint weather satellite initiative with the U.S. Air Force.   More



(Source: SpaceFlight Now - Nov 19)

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