NASA Launches New Earth-Observing Satellite

The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) atop an Atlas V rocket was launched successfully from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:02 p.m. EST on Monday, Feb. 11. LDCM is a collaboration between NASA and the Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey. The mission will continue the Landsat program's 40-year continuous data record by Earth's landscapes by satellite from space. LDCM will expand and improve on that record with observations that advance a wide range of Earth sciences and contribute to the management of agriculture, water and forest resources.