Video: Mars Pathfinder pre-launch preparations

A Delta 2 rocket has lifted off from California’s Central Coast on Saturday with a NASA environmental satellite designed to improve flood and drought forecasts, map moisture in Earth’s soils, and track the planet’s water cycle.

A Delta 2 rocket lifted off from California’s Central Coast Saturday after back-to-back scrubbed launch attempts earlier this week. The Delta 2 delivered the JPSS 1 weather satellite to orbit for NOAA.

The Mobile Service Tower at LC-17B is rolled away from the Delta 2 rocket that launched NASA’s Mars Pathfinder mission on its way to the red planet on December 4, 1996. This video includes footage shot inside the blockhouse at the launch pad.