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We are 3 minutes out from the re-ignition of the RL-10 engine on the Centaur upper stage that will push MAVEN onto its trajectory to Mars.

Scientists think that Mars was enjoyed a thick atmosphere 4 billion years ago that was rich with the same chemical elements familiar to Earth’s own air. What happened since, though, is a mystery. The prevailing theory is that the Martian core of molten metal solidified and the magnetic field generated by the swirling core all …

The Centaur upper stage performed its first burn and is now coasting with the MAVEN spacecraft aboard. It will coast until 2:09 p.m. EST and then reignite to put MAVEN on its final course for Mars.

The fuel and oxygen tanks on the Atlas V booster and Centaur upper stage are loaded with propellants now, a major step on the way to launching today at 1:28 p.m. EST. Launch controllers are getting ready for the last planned hold of the countdown, a 10-minute pause that begins at T-4 minutes.

The field mills around the launch site are back to green this afternoon following a switch to red conditions.

Launch controllers gave the “go” to begin loading liquid hydrogen, or LH2, into the Centaur upper stage. The Centaur will hold about 12,000 gallons of the propellant. The RL-10 engine burns hydrogen and oxygen to produce 22,300 pounds of thrust.

Today’s liftoff fire and thunder will be produced by an Atlas V rocket powered by an RD-180 engine at the bottom of the Atlas V first stage. The engine, which uses two thrust chambers and nozzles, burns rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen to generate 860,200 pounds of thrust. A Centaur upper stage will take over four minutes, …