The Mission
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Rocket: Atlas 5 (AV-005)
Payload: AMC 16
Date: December 17, 2004
Window: 4:41-7:21 a.m. EST (0941-1221 GMT)
Site: Complex 41, Cape Canaveral, Florida
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Spaceflight Now +
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Premium video content for our Spaceflight Now Plus subscribers.
Atlas blasts off
 Lockheed Martin's last Atlas 2AS rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral carrying a classified National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft on August 31. (3min 59sec file)
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Salute to pad 36A
 The Atlas launch team in the Complex 36 Blockhouse celebrate the history of pad 36A in a post-launch toast. The Atlas 2AS rocket flight was the last to launch from the pad, which entered service in 1962. (2min 09sec file)
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Mission success
 The classified NRO payload is deployed from the Centaur upper stage to successfully complete the launch. (1min 56sec file)
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More video
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Launch weather forecast
Posted: December 14, 2004
| Forecast
for Friday, December 17 |
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Issued: Tuesday, December 14
Launch Weather Officer: F. Clay Flinn, 45th Weather Squadron
Synoptic Discussion: "High pressure should dominate the Florida peninsula through the week. A dry cold frontal boundary passed through the central peninsula early this morning and will act to reinforce the cold air from the weekend.
Winds will become from the North to Northeast towards the latter part of the week. With Northerly to Northeasterly flow on Friday, we will likely have a low broken deck of clouds blowing in from the Atlantic and occasional drizzle. A trough of lower pressure is expected to develop off the East Coast late Thursday through Friday and intensify on Saturday which may result in isolated coastal showers. This will increase the probability of violating weather constraints on Saturday.
"The main weather concern on launch day will be a nontransparent, thick cloud layer. These conditions persist into Saturday with the aforementioned disturbance off the Florida peninsula. Winds are not expected to approach ops constraints."
Clouds: Broken at 3,000 feet with 5/8ths sky coverage and tops at 6,000 feet; Broken at 10,000 feet with 5/8ths sky coverage and tops at 12,000 feet
Visibility: 10 miles
Launch Pad Winds: Northeasterly from 040 degrees at 10 gusting to 15 knots
Temperature: 56 degrees F
Dew Point: 54 degrees F
Relative Humidity: 90 percent
Weather: Mostly cloudy
Solar Activity: Low
Probability of Violating Weather Constraints: 30 percent
Concerns: Thick clouds
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Friday's launch window: 4:41-7:21 a.m. EST (0941-1221 GMT)
Friday's sunrise: 7:08 a.m. EST (1208 GMT)
Saturday's launch window: 4:41-7:21 a.m. EST (0941-1221 GMT)
Saturday's sunrise: 7:09 a.m. EST (1209 GMT)
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| Forecast for 24-hour delay |
Saturday's Probability of Violating Constraints: 40 percent
Concerns: Thick clouds
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