Photos: Atlas 5 blasts off with GOES-S weather satellite

NOAA’s newest weather satellite, heading for a perch with coverage over the western United States and the Pacific Ocean, launched March 1 from Cape Canaveral on top of an Atlas 5 rocket.

The 197-foot-tall (60-meter) rocket, built by United Launch Alliance, lifted off at 5:02 p.m. EST (2202 GMT) on March 1 from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad. The Lockheed Martin-built GOES-S weather satellite rode the Atlas 5 rocket into orbit.

These photos show the rocket lifting off with more than 2 million pounds of thrust from a liquid-fueled RD-180 main engine and four solid rocket boosters.

Read our full story on the launch for details.

Credit: United Launch Alliance
Credit: United Launch Alliance
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: United Launch Alliance
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: NASA/Bill White
Credit: Lockheed Martin
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Credit: Lockheed Martin
Credit: United Launch Alliance
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: United Launch Alliance
Credit: United Launch Alliance
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now
Credit: Walter Scriptunas II / Spaceflight Now

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.