Thursday, February 18, 2010

Liftoff of NASA's Newest Solar Observatory!

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 10:23:10 AM EST

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is on its way into space, seeking a vantage point in orbit where it will examine our sun in more detail than ever before. The Atlas V carrying the SDO spacecraft is thundering into the Florida sky on 863,000 pounds of thrust. The booster's RD-180 engine will burn for about four minutes before the booster burns out and separates from the Centaur upper stage.