Posted: Sun, Sep 7, 2008, 9:09 AM ET (1309 GMT)
A Delta 2 rocket placed the latest commercial remote sensing satellite for a US company into orbit Saturday afternoon. The Delta 2 7420-10 lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 2:51 pm EDT (1851 GMT), and its payload, GeoEye-1, separated from the Delta's second stage nearly an hour later. The spacecraft, built by General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems for remote sensing company GeoEye, will operate in a 680-kilometers sun-synchronous orbit. The 1,955-kilogram satellite will provide high-resolution imagery as sharp as 41 centimeters per pixel, the highest resolution of any existing commercial imaging satellite. Development of GeoEye-1 was supported by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) under the NextView program.

Related Links:

•  Lompoc (Calif.) Record article
•  Reuters article
•  AP article
•  GeoEye press release
•  United Launch Alliance press release