Video: Preparing Delta 2 and SMAP for flight

Deploying its marquee element in space Tuesday, NASA’s new Soil Moisture Active Passive spacecraft took a major step towards realizing its science potential.

NASA, United Launch Alliance and Air Force officials hold the pre-launch news conference for the Delta 2 rocket with the agency’s SMAP environmental satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base on Jan. 27.

The United Launch Alliance Delta 2 was launched Saturday at 6:22 a.m. local time with NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.