NASA Satellite Heads to Orbit -- and You Can Watch

A strategically placed video camera aboard an upper-stage rocket motor captured NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive, or SMAP, spacecraft as it scooted off toward an operational orbit 425 miles above the planet. The footage, courtesy of NASA’s spaceflight services company, United Launch Alliance, provides a birds-eye view of the orbital action, backdropped against the marble blue beauty of Earth. The satellite, which is designed to map the amount of moisture in topsoil worldwide, can be seen unfolding its solar panel wings before the video feed ends. More

(Source: Discovery News - Feb 5)