IMAGE (from Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration), or Explorer 78, was a NASA MIDEX mission that studied the global response of the Earth's magnetosphere to changes in the solar wind. It was launched March 25, 2000 by a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg AFB and ceased operations in December 2005. The IMAGE craft was placed in a 1,000×46,000 km orbit around the Earth, with an inclination of 90° (passing over the poles) and a 14.2 hour period. IMAGE was the first spacecraf… (More on Image)