By Matt Smith, CNN <\/p>\n
updated 7:21 PM EST, Mon February 11, 2013 <\/p>\n
An Atlas-V rocket carrying a Landsat satellite lifts off Monday at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. <\/p>\n
STORY HIGHLIGHTS <\/p>\n
(CNN) -- NASA put its newest Landsat satellite into orbit on Monday, extending a long-running program that has been beaming back dramatic images of Earth for more than 40 years. <\/p>\n
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission -- to be designated Landsat 8, once it's up and running -- lifted off from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base atop an Atlas V booster. <\/p>\n
The $855 million platform, about the size of a sport-utility vehicle, has been in the works for years amid concerns about maintaining the U.S. suite of geoscience satellites. <\/p>\n
The first Landsat mission went into orbit in 1972; the last working mission, Landsat 7, was launched in 1999. It's still sending back images long after its five-year life expectancy, but suffers from a scanner problem that leaves black diagonal streaks across them. <\/p>\n
Landsat 5 sent back its last images in January after nearly 29 years; it had been designed to last three. <\/p>\n
The new mission's solar panels deployed successfully after Monday's launch, and the satellite should be fully operational after about three months of trials, NASA said. <\/p>\n
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Original post: <\/p>\n
NASA cheers new Landsat launch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Matt Smith, CNN updated 7:21 PM EST, Mon February 11, 2013 An Atlas-V rocket carrying a Landsat satellite lifts off Monday at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Continue reading