T-00:02.4	Engine Start
	Atlas booster and sustainer engines are ignited and undergo checkout prior to liftoff.
T+00:00	Launch
	The two ground-lit solid rocket boosters are ignited as the Atlas 2AS vehicle, designated AC-163, lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from launch pad 36A at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
T+00:08	Roll Program
	During vertical ascent, Atlas begins a seven-second roll maneuver to align itself with proper flight azimuth. Following the roll, the Centaur inertial guidance system controls pitch and yaw programs.
T+00:59.0	Air-lit SRB Ignition
	The remaining two solid rocket boosters strapped to the Atlas are ignited once onboard computer software determines the two ground-start SRBs have burned out, just seconds earlier.
T+01:17.4	Jettison Ground-Lit SRBs
	The two spent solid rocket boosters that were ignited on the ground are jettisoned to fall into the Atlantic Ocean.
T+01:56.6	Jettison Air-Lit SRBs
	Computer software will determine the air-start solid rocket boosters have burned all their propellant and should be jettisoned from the Atlas vehicle. The two SRBs will fall into the Atlantic Ocean.
T+02:43.8	Booster Engine Cutoff
	BECO occurs when axial acceleration of 5.0 g is obtained on the rocket. Sustainer engine provides the continued boost toward orbit for the Atlas rocket.
T+02:46.9	Jettison Booster Package
	The bottom engine structure with the two booster engine nozzles is separated from the Atlas vehicle.
T+03:24.4	Jettison Payload Fairing
	The 14-foot diameter aluminum payload fairing that protected the Superbird 6 spacecraft during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits.
T+05:00.4	Sustainer Engine Cutoff
	SECO is commanded once minimum residual propellant is sensed inside the Atlas booster stage.
T+05:02.5	Atlas/Centaur Separation
	The Atlas booster stage separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next few seconds, the Centaur engine liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied for ignition.
T+05:19.0	Centaur Engine Start 1
	MES 1, the longer of the two Centaur firings begins to inject the upper stage and Superbird 6 spacecraft into a low-altitude parking orbit.
T+09:43.7	Centaur Engine Cutoff 1
	MECO 1 occurs the Centaur engines are shutdown, arriving in a planned parking orbit. The vehicle begins a coast period over the mid-Atlantic before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.
T+24:29.9	Centaur Engine Start 2
	MES 2 occurs over the Atlantic Ocean between the African Ivory Coast and Ascension Island before the rocket passes over the equator. The burn lasts until the Centaur consumes all of its fuel for a minimum residual shutdown.
T+26:17.7	Centaur Engine Cutoff 2
	At the point of MECO 2, the Centaur/Superbird 6 vehicle should be in the required transfer orbit with a perigee of 90 nautical miles, apogee of 65,138 nautical miles and inclination of 25.5 degrees. Moments later, the stage begins aligning to the satellite separation attitude.
T+30:04.8	Spacecraft Separation
	The Japanese Superbird 6 telecommunications satellite is released into orbit from the Centaur upper stage to complete the AC-163 launch.

Image and data source: International Launch Services and Lockheed Martin Astronautics.