The second engine burn of the Centaur upper stage has begun and will last for about five minutes.
The second engine burn of the Centaur upper stage has begun and will last for about five minutes.
InSight Countdown to T-Zero, Episode 1: From the West Coast to the Red Planet The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket reaches another major milestone on the road to T-Zero, as NASA’s InSight spacecraft prepares for launch. Stacking the rocket begins with the booster – the largest component – and continues with the addition of …
The first engine burn of the Centaur upper stage has ended. Centaur with NASA’s InSight spacecraft and MarCO is now in a coast phase.
The Centaur upper stage main engine has started its burn following on-time booster engine cutoff and Atlas/Centaur separation. The first of two burns for the Centaur main engine start will last nearly eight minutes. The payload fairing has been jettisoned.

Booster ignition and liftoff of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 a.m. PDT), from Space Launch Complex 3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, carrying NASA’s InSight spacecraft. The rocket is on its way, carrying NASA’s Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) to begin …
The InSight countdown is underway, proceeding toward a liftoff at 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 a.m. PDT). During the last four minutes of the countdown, the Atlas and Centaur propellant tanks will be brought up to flight pressure, the rocket and spacecraft will be confirmed on internal power, and the Western Range and launch managers will …

Hitching a ride with InSight is NASA’s technology experiment known as Mars Cube One (MarCO), a separate mission of its own. Designed and built by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, MarCO consists of two mini-spacecraft and will be the first test of CubeSat technology in deep space. They are designed to test new …
The launch countdown has entered a planned T-4 minute hold. This hold will last 15 minutes. There are no weather constraints.
There are no weather constraints for launch this morning. Launch is targeted for 7:05 a.m. EDT (4:05 a.m. PDT), at the beginning of a two-hour launch window.
Fueling of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket is underway.