NASA Launches Three 'Microsatellites'

NASA fired three microsatellites into space Wednesday to study the Earth's magnetic fields, a week after an earlier launch was scrubbed.

The ST5 satellites, which will test new technologies for future science missions, were carried aloft from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Lockheed L-1011 jet.

The devices are scheduled to operate in space for at least 90 days, according to NASA.

Shortly after 6 a.m., when the plane reached 39,000 feet, a compact Pegasus rocket dropped from the aircraft's belly fired its engine and ferried the satellites on a 10-minute climb into space. The launch was broadcast live on NASA's TV station.

The satellites are small, weighing just about 55 pounds when fully fueled.

The mission's goal is to demonstrate the benefits of a group of small, low-cost satellites simultaneously measuring the magnetic fields from different locations.

The ST5 project is part of NASA's New Millennium Program, which was created to identify, build and test innovative technologies.

The agency never determined the exact nature of the problem that delayed last week's launch. But NASA surmised that the problem was caused by a locking pin in the rocket's flight control that failed to retract before launch because ice had formed on it.