Posted: Tue, Feb 12, 2013, 7:16 AM ET (1216 GMT)
An Atlas 5 rocket successfully placed the newest Landsat remote sensing satellite into orbit on Monday. The Atlas 5 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 1:02 pm EST (1802 GMT) and released the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) spacecraft into a sun-synchronous orbit 79 minutes later. The Orbital Sciences-built spacecraft, weighing about 2,780 kilograms, is the latest in a series of earth sciences spacecraft dating back 40 years, and the first Landsat spacecraft since Landsat 7, launched in 1999. The spacecraft will be renamed Landsat 8 and handed over to the US Geological Survey for normal operations in about three months.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  SPACE.com article
•  Lompoc (Calif.) Record article
•  AP article
•  NASA press release