| T-00:02.7 |
Engine Start |
| The Russian-designed RD-180 main engine is ignited and undergoes checkout prior to launch. |
|
| T+00:01.1 |
Liftoff |
| The Atlas 5 vehicle, designated AV-017, lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. |
|
T+04:07 |
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+04:13 |
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+04:23 |
Centaur Ignition 1 |
| The Centaur RL10 engine ignites for the sole firing needed to inject the upper stage and spacecraft into polar orbit. |
|
| T+04:31 |
Nose Cone Jettison |
| The payload fairing that protected the DMSP spacecraft during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits. |
|
| T+15:20 |
Centaur Cutoff 1 |
| The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned circular polar orbit of 462.8 nautical miles inclined 99 degrees to the equator. |
|
| T+18:09 |
DMSP Separation |
| The U.S. Air Force's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program 18 spacecraft is released from the Centaur upper stage to begin its mission. |
|
| T+2:58:07 |
Centaur Ignition 2 |
| After moving away from the DMSP spacecraft, the Centaur will spend a couple of hours in demonstration mode and eventually re-ignite the RL10 engine for disposal. |
|
| T+3:01:47 |
Centaur Cutoff 2 |
| At the conclusion of its second firing, the Centaur will have embarked on an Earth-escape trajectory. |
