Posted: Sat, Nov 4, 2006, 3:33 PM ET (2033 GMT)
A Boeing Delta 4 successfully launched a weather satellite for the US military early Saturday. The Delta 4 Medium lifted off from Space Launch Complex 6 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California at 8:53 am EST (1353 GMT) and placed its payload, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) 17 spacecraft, into polar orbit 18 minutes later. DMSP-17 is the latest in a series of low Earth orbit weather satellites used by the US military to support forces worldwide. The launch is the seventh for the Delta 4 family of vehicles since its introduction nearly four years ago, and the second from Vandenberg.

Related Links:

•  NASA SpaceFlight.com article
•  AP article
•  Santa Maria (Calif.) Times article
•  Spaceflight Now launch status center
•  Boeing press release