Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. ? A super-sharp Earth-imaging satellite that can detail an area the size of a baseball diamond’s home plate from space has been launched into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central California coast.

A Delta 2 rocket carrying the GeoEye-1 satellite lifted off on Saturday. Video on the GeoEye Web site showed the satellite separating from the rocket moments later.

Arizona-based General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, the satellite makers, say GeoEye-1 cost more than $500 million to build and launch.

The satellite will orbit 423 miles up and circle the Earth more than a dozen times a day.