NASA's THEMIS mission successfully launched, on board a Delta II rocket, Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6:01 pm EST from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. THEMIS stands for the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms. It is NASA's first five-satellite mission launched aboard a single rocket. The spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle approximately 73 minutes after liftoff. By 8:07 pm EST, mission operators at the University of California, Berkeley, commanded and received signals from all five spacecraft, confirming nominal separation status.