United Launch Alliance places weather satellite into orbit

The United Launch Alliance fired a weather satellite built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. into orbit Friday morning. The launch of a ULA Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. was the second mission of 2009 for the Centennial-based company, the government’s main contractor for satellite launches. Lockheed Martin Space Systems is headquartered in Littleton. The satellite launched Friday is the last of 16 satellites in a fleet of weather-tracking orbiters procured by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The U.S. launched the first satellite in the fleet in 1978. More

(Source: Bizjournals.com - Feb 7)