Launch of satellites lights up LV sky

Monday, Jan. 13, 2003 | 9:45 a.m.

NASA officials successfully launched a rocket late Sunday afternoon that spawned a bright spiral cloud in Southern Nevada's western skies.

The launch of the Boeing Delta II rocket carrying two satellites had been delayed from Saturday after a mechanical problem, NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said Sunday.

Engineers were unable to load helium under pressure into the rocket's tanks. The helium is needed to propel the craft into space, Buckingham said.

The Delta II left the launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base at 4:45 p.m. Sunday, Buckingham said. Vandenberg is in California, about 125 miles north of Los Angeles.

The cloud appeared in the sky west of Las Vegas after sunset at 4:47 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.

The rocket carried the land elevation satellite ICESat into orbit to study the Earth's oceans and observe the polar ice sheets to determine if they are growing or shrinking.

The $282 million project is expected to collect data for at least three years.

The 661-pound ICESat is considered a benchmark for the Earth Observing System, which is tracking the rise and fall of global sea levels.

Scientists hope the observations can help provide a better understanding of how changes in the atmosphere and climate affect sea levels and Earth's climate.

The rocket was also carrying the $16 million Cosmic Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer satellite CHIPSat. That satellite will monitor the glowing gas that fills the space between stars, known as interstellar medium.

The suitcase-sized 131-pound CHIPSat will provide information about the origin, the processes and the properties of the hot gas.

The satellites were to be placed in polar orbits 375 miles and 350 miles, respectively, above the Earth.