Stills from launch at VAFB

Launched Monday, January 6, 2003 at 6:18 am PST (14:18 GMT)
. Launch attempts on Sunday 1/5/03 and 12/15/02-12/17/02 were scrubbed at T-9 minutes due to Weather.

Coriolis is a test mission for the flight of two Defense Department payloads: 1) Windsat, a Navy polarimetric microwave radiometer experiment to passively measure ocean surface wind vector; and 2) a U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Solar Mass Ejection Imager (SMEI) to monitor solar activity with the goal of more accurately predicting geomagnetic disturbances to orbiting satellites. The spacecraft's two payloads will collect data continuously during its three year mission. The satellite will be launched into a Sun-synchronous Orbit at 830 Km, 98.7 deg, 6pm LTAN for a three-year Mission.