FARGO - The blast off party that University of North Dakota students and professors have been waiting for since 2001 is ready to start, good weather willing.

A sophisticated camera system known as AgCam is set to be launched into space aboard the shuttle Endeavor, which is scheduled to take off from Florida at 6:55 p.m. Central time today. The camera is to be mounted on the International Space Station.

The school has secured a rare feed from NASA for today's launch, which AgCam operations analyst Nate Ambler says should be more than a celebration.

"More like relief," Ambler said, laughing.

The camera is specially designed to transmit detailed pictures and information of the Earth. Its initial focus will be images of crop land to help farmers and ranchers manage land in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

"A lot of graduates and undergraduates have contributed to this over the years," Ambler said. "A lot of work has gone into just making sure everything is prepared."

More than 40 students in eight university departments worked on the project, most of them from mechanical and electrical engineering. Man of them have graduated and moved on to jobs or further schooling, including 11 who wrote thesis papers about it.

"The AgCam is a big part of why they got their jobs," said Richard Schultz, associate professor of electrical engineering. "They are excited. It has been a long haul."

AgCam's trip into space has been delayed a number of times, including the delay that began with the Columbia disaster in 2003.

"Many space projects don't come to fruition," Schultz said. "A lot of it is politics and a lot of it is funding."

Schultz credits Doug Olsen, the project director. Olsen went to Florida for the launch, along with George Seielstad, director of the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium, and Will Semke, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Schultz and Ambler stayed home to be hosts for the special UND viewing.

"To be quite honest, I never thought this day would come," Schultz said. "It's kind of a miracle, actually."