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).<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The timeline below ends with the conclusion of the primary mission, the deployment of the Mars 2020 spacecraft on an interplanetary trajectory toward Mars<\/p>\n
Follow live coverage of the countdown and launch in ourMission Status Center.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff<\/p>\n
T+0:00:35.2: Mach 1<\/p>\n
T+0:00:47.1: Max-Q<\/p>\n
T+0:01:49.3: Jettison SRBs<\/p>\n
T+0:03:27.6: Payload Fairing Jettison<\/p>\n
T+0:04:22.1: Main Engine Cutoff<\/p>\n
T+0:04:28.1: Stage Separation<\/p>\n
T+0:04:38.1: Centaur Ignition 1<\/p>\n
T+0:11:27.9: Centaur Cutoff 1<\/p>\n
T+0:44:59.5: Centaur Ignition 2<\/p>\n
T+0:52:50.1: Centaur Cutoff 2<\/p>\n
T+0:57:32.8: Mars 2020 Separation<\/p>\n
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Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/p>\n
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Atlas 5 launch timeline on the Mars 2020 mission Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This is the launch timeline to be followed by the Atlas 5 rockets ascent into space from Cape Canaveral with NASAs Mars 2020 mission. Continue reading