Orbital Sciences Corp. [ORB] successfully launched its ground-based Taurus rocket, carrying the U.S. Energy Department’s Multispectral Thermal Imager (MTI) satellite into its targeted orbit in a mission that originated from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The MTI mission is the fifth launch of Orbital’s Taurus rocket since its debut in 1994, all of which resulted in successful satellite deployments. It also was Orbital’s 19th consecutive successful space launch, including missions carried out by the company’s Taurus, Pegasus and OSP/Minotaur rockets.

“Our Taurus program team did another outstanding job with the launch of the MTI satellite, They added another chapter to the rocket’s unblemished record of successful missions,” said Ronald Grabe, Orbital’s executive vice president and general manager of its launch systems group.