Delta 2 launches THEMIS probes to study aurora 2/17/07 ~ 6:01pm Homepage          Launch Photos Shortly before sunset, a Delta 2 rocket launches the five THEMIS probes into Earth orbit for NASA on Feb. 17. THEMIS stands for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms and consists of five identical probes that will study the Earth's magnetic field and the aurora. It was the largest number of NASA satellites ever launched on one mission. Liftoff occured just 14 minutes before sunset, making for a spectacular smoke trail of orange, yellow and white as it climbed higher into the atmosphere. THEMIS cleanroom gallery                Personal launch video <--- GPS 2R-16M                        Phoenix Mars Lander --->

A glorious sunset launch as seen from the press site, 1.56 miles northwest of Launch Pad 17B:

Remote image from second camera (first at top):

Some closeups, also from the press site:

The six ground-lit SRBs fall towards the ocean after separating from the vehicle:

One last parting shot: