CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Cape Canaveral's first launch of 2001 lit up the skies over Florida's Space Coast early Tuesday with the familiar sight of an Air Force Delta 2 rocket carrying a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite into orbit.
The Boeing-built booster blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 17 at 2:55 a.m. EST (07:55 GMT) on a $90 million mission that successfully delivered a Lockheed Martin-built navigation spacecraft into its transfer orbit 25 minutes later.
An Air Force Delta 2 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral early Tuesday carrying a Navstar GPS satellite in this image captured from Boeing TV coverage. Click to see a larger image.
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Liftoff was delayed 12 minutes by a last-minute problem involving the ability to command the rocket to self destruct in the event of an emergency after launch.
But when the rocket launched, it offered a dazzling spectacle of light for folks who braved the early hour to step outside and watch."This was certainly one of the best night launches I've seen," said Katherine Barton, a writer who lives in Satellite Beach just south of the launch site. "The Delta 2 entered a pocket of upper-level haze and a clearly defined outer cloud ring surrounded the rocket for at least 30 seconds. It was spectacular! The blue flame tailing the Delta lasted right up until the rocket couldn't be distinguished from nearby stars."
After several weeks of maneuvering and tests by flight controllers at the 50th Space Wing at Schriever Air Force Base in Colorado, the satellite known as GPS 2R-7 will replace a Navstar GPS launched into space from Florida more than 10 years ago.
The Delta 2/GPS combination first flew from the Cape on Feb. 14, 1989, and Tuesday's launch marked the 34th in the series, with only one failure in January 1997.
In fact, it was the Air Force's 1987 contract for launching the GPS satellites that led Boeing -- then McDonnell Douglas -- to design and begin building and launching the 12-story Delta 2 rocket.
An Air Force Delta 2 rocket streaks over Florida's Space Coast early Tuesday in this image captured from Boeing TV coverage. Click to see a larger image.
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"There is no better way to start off the new year," said Will Hampton, director of Air Force Delta programs for Boeing. "This is the first Delta launch of 2001 and we are thrilled to see this long-time relationship between Boeing and the U.S. Air Force continue with great success."
The $2.5 billion constellation of 28 Navstar GPS satellites send out a signal that is received by military and civilian users around the world to help them keep track of where they are on the planet, what direction they are moving and how fast they are going.
Originally classified top-secret by the Pentagon, GPS satellite receivers now can be found on the shelves of consumer electronics stores; or on the dashboards of cars, trucks and minivans on sale at your local dealer.
Meanwhile, Boeing hopes to launch as many as 11 Delta 2 rockets this year from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The schedule targets two more GPS launches, a half-dozen flights for NASA and a pair of commercial missions.
The next Delta 2 launch is expected on April 7 when NASA's Mars Odyssey satellite is to be sent toward the Red Planet from Cape Canaveral.
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