Delta II launches THEMIS

2/17/07 ~ 6:01 p.m.

Shortly before sunset, a Delta II rocket launches the five THEMIS probes into Earth orbit for NASA. 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 science 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.

The GIF below shows the THEMIS spacecraft undergoing a spin balance test inside a cleanroom at Kennedy Space Center.