US launches Earth observation satellite
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Buy SPH photosLOS ANGELES (AFP) - The United States has launched its latest Earth observation satellite, enhancing an array of orbiting eyes that help with everything from climate change study to urban planning.
The satellite was launched into space atop an Atlas rocket fired from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, NASA said.
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or Landsat 8, was the latest in a line of satellites used since 1972 to continuously gather imagery from space of the Earth's land surface, coastal areas and coral reefs.
The new satellite separated from the rocket an hour and twenty minutes after liftoff on Monday, and the peep of its first signal was received three minutes later at a ground station in Norway.
