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The Centaur’s small thrusters are positioning the stage and MAVEN into the proper attitude before releasing the 5,410-pound spacecraft to fly on its own.

The Centaur engine shut down as planned after putting MAVEN on a proper course for Mars orbit. MAVEN, with its solar arrays still folded, will spring free of the Centaur stage in about six minutes.

Centaur’s RL-10 engine has ignited! This burn will last 5 1/2 minutes and put MAVEN on its final trajectory to Mars.

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.