Posted: Mon, Dec 14, 2009, 2:05 PM ET (1905 GMT)
A Delta 2 successfully placed a NASA astronomy satellite into orbit on Monday. The Delta 2 7320-10C lifted off from SLC-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 9:09 am EST (1409 GMT) and placed the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft into a sun-synchronous orbit. The launch had been scheduled for last week but was delayed by a technical problem with the rocket as well as poor weather at the launch site. WISE is designed to perform a full sky survey at infrared wavelengths, observing objects ranging from nearby asteroids to distant galaxies. It will begin scientific observations after completing a month-long on-orbit checkout.
