This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rockets ascent into space from Cape Canaveral with NASAs Mars 2020 mission. Launch is scheduled for Thursday during a two-hour window opening at 7:50 a.m. EDT (1150 GMT).

The 197-foot-tall rocket will arc to the southeast from Floridas Space Coast on its fourth flight of the year. It will be the 85th Atlas 5 launch overall since United Launch Alliances workhorse rocket debuted in August 2002.

The timeline below ends with the conclusion of the primary mission, the deployment of the Mars 2020 spacecraft on an interplanetary trajectory toward Mars

Follow live coverage of the countdown and launch in ourMission Status Center.

A video overview of the Atlas 5 launch sequence also describes the major milestones on the Mars 2020 mission, and a map below shows the Atlas 5s expected ground track toward the southeast from Cape Canaveral, culminating in separation of the Mars 2020 spacecraft from the Centaur upper stage over Indonesia.

T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff

T+0:00:35.2: Mach 1

T+0:00:47.1: Max-Q

T+0:01:49.3: Jettison SRBs

T+0:03:27.6: Payload Fairing Jettison

T+0:04:22.1: Main Engine Cutoff

T+0:04:28.1: Stage Separation

T+0:04:38.1: Centaur Ignition 1

T+0:11:27.9: Centaur Cutoff 1

T+0:44:59.5: Centaur Ignition 2

T+0:52:50.1: Centaur Cutoff 2

T+0:57:32.8: Mars 2020 Separation

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Read more:

Atlas 5 launch timeline on the Mars 2020 mission Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now