Kepler Mission rocket launch. Delta II 7925 rocket taking off to launch NASA's Kepler Mission. This mission is designed to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. A 0.95 metre diameter telescope called a photometer will scan 100,000 stars in the Milky Way for evidence of Earth-sized terrestrial planets that transit the star's path. The mission was launched on March 7th, 2009, and will orbit the Sun for at least 3.5 years. The mission is named in honour of German astronomer Johannes Kepler. Photographed on 6 March 2009, at Launch Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA.