Updated: Fri, Dec 7, 2001, 1:33 PM ET (1833 GMT)
Originally Posted: Fri, Dec 7, 2001, 1:32 PM ET (1832 GMT)
A Delta 2 booster successfully launched two science satellites Friday morning. The Delta 2 lifted off on schedule at 10:07 am EST (1507 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Its first payload, the French-American Jason 1 spacecraft, separated from the Delta's upper stage 55 minutes after liftoff; the second payload, the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) spacecraft, separated two hours and seven minutes after launch. Jason 1 will monitor world ocean circulation, continuing the work started by the Topex/Poseidon satellite. TIMED will study a region of the Earth’s upper atmosphere between 60 and 180 kilometers altitude that has been only poorly studied in the past. The launch is the seventh and last Delta launch for 2001.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now launch status center
•  Jason 1 web site
•  TIMED web site