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Public Affairs 45th Space Wing
Patrick Air Force Base, FL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 01/29/03

DELTA II ROCKET LAUNCHES WITH HISTORIC NOSE ART

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- A Delta II rocket with a 
global positioning system satellite aboard launched successfully today 
at 1:06 p.m., complete with official "Let's Roll" nose art.

This marks the first time, and will be the only launch in the 50-year 
storied history of Cape Canaveral that nose art will appear on a 
rocket launched from the Cape.

Throughout Air Force history, airmen have used aircraft nose art as a 
special way to express patriotism for their country and pride in their 
unit and crew. The "Let's Roll" nose art was created to pay respect 
for the courage of those who died aboard United Flight 93 as well as 
all victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedies.

The words were made famous by Todd Beamer, a passenger on Flight 93. 
Beamer, a 32-year-old businessman, Sunday School teacher, husband and 
father led other passengers in fighting terrorists for control of 
Flight 93 before it crashed into a field in western Pennsylvania. He 
was overheard on a cellular phone saying, "Let's roll!" as passengers 
charged the terrorists.

The nose art design was created by Senior Airman Duane White, a 
journeyman from Air Combat Command's multimedia center at Langley AFB, 
Va.

NOSEART

"Putting the artwork on the Delta II rocket was our way to increase 
awareness within America and other nations of the need to combat 
terrorism, and the important role the GPS satellite plays in the war 
on terror," said Capt. Joy Meade, project officer for the nose art and 
member of the 1st Space Launch Squadron.

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