NASA's THEMIS mission successfully launched, on board a Delta II rocket, Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6:01 p.m. EST from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
THEMIS stands for the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms. It is NASA's first five-satellite mission launched aboard a single rocket. The spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle approximately 73 minutes after liftoff. By 8:07 p.m. EST, mission operators at the University of California, Berkeley, commanded and received signals from all five spacecraft, confirming nominal separation status.
What happens to the rocket boosters that fall off during the first stage? Does NASA recover them as they fall to the ground or the sea, or do they just forget about them?
piktrains 3 years ago