NASA's IMAGE spacecraft was launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg AFB on March 25. 2000.
The Delta II flawlessly placed IMAGE into an elliptical polar orbit. beginning its planned 2-year mission.
IMAGE was the first satellite mission dedicated to imaging the Earth's magnetosphere.
the region of space controlled by the Earth's magnetic field and containing
extremely tenuous plasmas of both solar and terrestrial origin.
IMAGE used neutral atom. ultraviolet. and radio imaging techniques to produce
thousands of stunning images of this previously invisible region of space.
The science gathered was significant in the understanding of magnetosphere dynamics and
behavior and has resulted in 37 unique scientific discoveries.
On December 18. 2005. IMAGE's telemetry signals were not received during a routine pass. ending its mission after
nearly six years of successful operations and having exceeded its mission goals.