In Brief:

March 13, 2000
Web posted at: 2:24 p.m. EST (1924 GMT)

(CNN) -- A ground-launched Taurus rocket successfully ferried into orbit a $150 million experimental U.S. Energy Department on Sunday.

The Multispectral Thermal Imager satellite is embarking on a three-year mission to study electromagnetic waves reflected from Earth's surface.

It was launched from a California Air Force base.

The satellite carries a telescope that can produce images day and night by using 15 spectral bands ranging from visible light to infrared.

The technology could be used to monitor treaty compliance, vegetation, volcanic activity and chemical spills.

(CNN) -- Boeing is offering to reimburse taxpayers for the loss of two International Space Station parts worth $750,000.

The nitrogen and oxygen tanks were apparently thrown out by mistake at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.

Initially, Boeing had refused to pay for new tanks, but a Boeing official now says the company has offered to pay NASA for the equipment even if Boeing was not responsible for losing it.

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