It saw the Landsat-8 mission hurtle skywards on an Atlas rocket from the US Air Force base at Vandenberg shortly after 10:00 local time (18:00 GMT).

BBC: Lift-off for latest Landsat mission

The Atlas 5 rocket that launched today stands 191.2 feet (58.3 meters) tall and includes one main booster powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 engine.

MSN: Shhh �� Air Forces launches secret US spy satellite

Unlike SpaceX, which has its own rocket, SNC would use the Atlas 5 launcher, which has an excellent reliability record in putting up military and scientific satellites.

BBC: Nasa announces space shuttle replacement shortlist

Glen Fountain from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab says New Horizons will launch atop the speediest interplanetary rocket ever, a supercharged Atlas V.

NPR: NASA Sends Spacecraft to Pluto

The Landsat satellite was boosted into orbit by an Atlas V rocket shortly before 11:30 a.m. local time, more than an hour after lifting off from Vandenberg Air Force Base under mostly clear skies.

NPR: Latest Earth Satellite Launches From Calif. Coast