Delta II launches MESSENGER

8/3/04 ~ 2:15 a.m.

A Boeing Delta II-Heavy rocket, with slightly larger Solid Rocket Boosters than usual, launches NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft on a long journey to the planet Mercury, which has been visited by just one man made object previously: Mariner 10 flew by the planet three times in 1973-74. The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging mission successfully entered orbit around Mercury on March 17, 2011.