Satellite launched by NASA

AFTER a series of delays, NASA’s Aura satellite was launched into orbit early yesterday on a $740m mission to study Earth’s atmosphere.

A two-stage Boeing Delta II rocket carrying the satellite roared off the launch pad at the central California coastal base of Vandenberg.

The 6,542lb satellite, which carries four instruments built by Britain, the United States, the Netherlands and Finland, separated from the rocket about an hour later and entered orbit 438 miles above Earth.