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VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Media attending a post-launch news conference at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. heard from officials who described the successful launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, or LDCM. From the left are: Ken Schwer, LDCM project manager Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., Michael Luther, deputy associate administrator for programs, Science Mission Directorate, at NASA Headquarters, Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate at Headquarters, Anne Castle, assistant secretary for Water and Science, U.S. Department of the Interior, and Marsha McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission LDCM is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government. The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth's surface on a global basis. The data from the Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth's continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value. Liftoff took place at 10:02 a.m. PST 1:02 P.M. EST) on Feb. 11, 2013 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. For more information, visit: http:__www.nasa.gov_mission_pages_landsat_main_index.html Photo credit: NASA_Kim Shiflett