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A Titan II rocket launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The rocket took off from Space Launch Complex-4 west carrying NASA's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-L weather satellite. The launch is the result of a combined effort by the men and women of the 30th Space Wing, NASA and the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles. The spacelift commander for this mission was US Air Force Colonel Steve Lanning, 30th Space Wing commander. US Air Force Major Dave Salm, 2nd Space Launch Squadron, is the Air Force launch director. NOAA-L will primarily provide long-range weather forecasting. It will operate in tandem with currently orbiting NOAA satellites. NOAA-L will ensure that non-visible data, for any region of the Earth, is no more than six hours old.

Scene Camera Operator: SSGT Jennifer C. Wallis, USAF