NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Spacecraft: Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST)
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II 7920-H
Launch Location: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
Launch Pad: Launch Complex 17-B
Launch Date: June 11, 2008
Launch Time: 12:05:521 p.m. EDT

Successful Launch for GLAST


Image above: The Delta II rocket carrying the GLAST spacecraft lifts off from Launch Complex 17-B.
Image credit: NASA/Jerry Cannon, Robert Murray
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The GLAST spacecraft began its mission to explore the extreme universe by riding to space atop a Delta II rocket. The liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Pad 17-B came 20 minutes into the launch window at 12:05 p.m. EDT.

The Delta II is designed to boost medium-sized satellites and robotic explorers into space. For this launch, NASA used a two-stage rocket equipped with nine strap-on solid rocket boosters. The second-stage engine fired twice as it propelled the spacecraft toward its intended orbit. The first burn over the Atlantic Ocean lasted 5 minutes and 35 seconds, followed by a cruise phase of 58 minutes. The second firing over the South Pacific lasted just over a minute. At approximately 75 minutes after launch, the GLAST spacecraft separated from the second stage as it reached its circular orbit 350 miles above Earth.

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