| T-0:00:02.7 |
Engine Start |
| The Russian-designed RD-180 main engine is ignited and undergoes checkout prior to launch. |
|
| T+0:00:01.1 |
Liftoff |
| The single strap-on solid rocket booster is lit as the Atlas 5 vehicle, designated AV-008, lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. |
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|
| T+0:02:25.0 |
Jettison SRB |
| Having burned out of propellant approximately 50 seconds earlier, the spent solid rocket booster is jettisoned to fall into the Atlantic Ocean. |
|
| T+0:04:02.7 |
Main Engine Cutoff |
| The RD-180 main engine completes its firing after consuming its kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel supply in the Atlas first stage. |
|
| T+0:04:08.7 |
Stage Separation |
| The Common Core Booster first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket 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+0:04:18.7 |
Centaur Ignition 1 |
| The Centaur RL10 engine ignites for the longer of the two upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and Astra 1KR spacecraft into a high-altitude parking orbit. |
|
| T+0:04:26.7 |
Nose Cone Jettison |
| The payload fairing that protected the Astra 1KR spacecraft during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits. |
|
| T+0:17:56.0 |
Centaur Cutoff 1 |
| The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned parking orbit with an apogee of 13,945 miles, perigee of 104 miles and inclination of 24.83 degrees. The vehicle enters a lengthy coast period before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn. |
|
| T+1:43:54.7 |
Centaur Ignition 2 |
| After orbiting over Africa, the Centaur re-ignites above the Indian Ocean to accelerate the payload into geosynchronous transfer orbit from the parking achieved earlier in the launch sequence. |
|
| T+1:45:20.8 |
Centaur Cutoff 2 |
| At the conclusion of its second firing, the Centaur will have delivered the Astra 1KR spacecraft into the targeted deployment orbit with an apogee of 22,237 miles, perigee of 3,860 miles and inclination of 23.97 degrees. |
| T+1:48:09.8 |
Spacecraft Separation |
| The Astra 1KR commercial communications satellite is released into orbit from the Centaur upper stage to complete the AV-008 launch. The satellite will relay programming to Astra direct-to-home TV system subscribers across Europe. |
