Intro music.
NASA's MESSENGER launch was a successful testbed for a pair of radar antenna temporarily installed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Information from this test holds promising results that could benefit the Space Shuttle's safe Return To Flight.
For the MESSENGER launch, engineers could observe almost every detail of the ascent,
receiving images never seen before such as a magnificent view of the plume and ice shedding.
The antennas, on loan to NASA from the U.S. Navy, tracked the Delta II launch vehicle from all angles as it blasted through the atmosphere.
During upcoming Space Shuttle missions,
the imaging radar duo will give the launch team an unobstructed view of the lift-off, even with low visibility, cloud cover or darkness.
NASA and the Navy will collaborate in the use of imaging radar technology at KSC to augment long-range optical tracking systems,
an additional tool that will reinforce the safe Return To Flight of the Space Shuttle.