TITUSVILLE, Fla., Feb. 18 (UPI) -- NASA successfully launched a Delta II rocket from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this weekend that will carry five THEMIS satellites into orbit.
The NASA Web site said that as part of a planned study aimed at investigating auroras in the Earth's atmosphere, the organization launched the single rocket Saturday and watched as its nine solid rocket motors took the delivery vehicle into space.
Once the five THEMIS satellites are successfully dispersed into orbit, they will begin to monitor the auroras and the unusual and mysterious changes in appearance that they undergo.
Scientists have linked the fascinating event to magnetic substorms and have said that by closely monitoring such occurrences, they can gain a better understanding of space travel altogether.
"Substorm processes are fundamental to our understanding of space weather and how it affects satellites and humans in the magnetosphere," THEMIS scientist Vassilis Angelopoulos said.
The Web site said the satellites are expected to be able to monitor nearly 30 substorms during the two-year length of the space mission.
