NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Deep Impact Image above: Deep Impact lifts off from pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., bound for Comet Tempel 1. Photo credit: NASA/KSC

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LAUNCH OVERVIEW:
The Deep Impact spacecraft lifted off aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 1:47:08.574 p.m. EST on January 12, 2005.

Additional Information:
+ Launch Pad
+ Spacecraft Processing
+ Launch Team
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THE ROCKET:



Image above: This illustration shows components of the Boeing Delta II launch vehicle. Image credit: The Boeing Company

The Delta II launch vehicles are descended from the Delta rockets that have been in use since the 1960s. They have carried aloft a number of NASA spacecraft like Deep Space 1, NEAR, Mars Climate Orbiter, Mars Polar Lander, STARDUST, FUSE, IMAGE and EO-1/SAC-C into space.