{"id":13819,"date":"2018-05-04T23:35:24","date_gmt":"2018-05-04T15:35:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/launch-timeline-for-atlas-5s-mission-with-insight\/"},"modified":"2018-05-04T23:35:24","modified_gmt":"2018-05-04T15:35:24","slug":"launch-timeline-for-atlas-5s-mission-with-insight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/launch-timeline-for-atlas-5s-mission-with-insight\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch timeline for Atlas 5\u2019s mission with InSight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to dispatch NASA\u2019s InSight lander toward Mars, kicking off an interplanetary journey from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.<\/p>\n<p>The 188-foot-tall (57-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine, is set for liftoff during a two-hour launch window Saturday that opens at 4:05 a.m. EDT (7:05 a.m. EDT; 1105 GMT).<\/p>\n<p>The InSight mission will be the 78th flight of an Atlas 5 rocket, and the fourth Atlas 5 launch of 2018.<\/p>\n<p>The Atlas 5 rocket will lift off from Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, flying in the \u201c401\u201d configuration with no solid rocket boosters and a four-meter-diameter payload fairing.<\/p>\n<p>Read our mission preview story for details on the launch.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/O_D85bjcdXE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; encrypted-media\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32214\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32214\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32214\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/41861294161_583d156f20_k-678x524.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/41861294161_583d156f20_k-678x524.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/41861294161_583d156f20_k-300x232.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/41861294161_583d156f20_k-768x593.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/41861294161_583d156f20_k.jpg 1800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32214\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:00:01.1: Liftoff<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32215\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32215\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32215\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_insight_liftoff-678x375.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_insight_liftoff.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_insight_liftoff-300x166.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32215\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">After igniting its RD-180 main engine at T-minus 2.7 seconds, the Atlas 5 rocket climbs away from Space Launch Complex 3-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, with 860,000 pounds of thrust.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:01:17.8: Mach 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32216\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32216\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32216\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mach1-678x378.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mach1.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mach1-300x167.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32216\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Atlas 5 rocket exceeds the speed of sound, flying to the south-southeast from Vandenberg Air Force Base.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:01:26.9: Max-Q<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32217\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32217\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32217\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_maxq-678x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_maxq.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_maxq-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32217\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Atlas 5 rocket passes through the region of maximum dynamic pressure during ascent through the lower atmosphere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:04:04.3: Booster Engine Cutoff<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32218\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32218\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32218\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_beco-678x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_beco.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_beco-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32218\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The RD-180 main engine completes its firing after consuming its kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel supply in the Atlas first stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:04:10.3: Stage Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32219\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32219\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32219\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_staging-678x381.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_staging.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_staging-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32219\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Common Core Booster first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next few seconds, the Centaur engine liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied for ignition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:04:20.3: Centaur Ignition 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32220\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32220\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32220\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mes1-678x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mes1.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mes1-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32220\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Centaur RL10C-1 engine ignites for the first of three upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and the InSight spacecraft into an initial parking orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:04:28.3: Payload Fairing Jettison<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32221\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32221\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32221\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_fairing_jettison-678x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_fairing_jettison.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_fairing_jettison-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32221\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Atlas 5\u2019s 4-meter-diameter (13-foot) payload fairing separates in a clamshell-like fashion once the rocket climbs into the rarefied upper atmosphere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+0:13:16.2: Centaur Cutoff 1<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32223\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32223\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32223\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_meco1-678x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_meco1.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_meco1-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32223\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in a planned low-Earth parking orbit. The vehicle enters a nearly 66-minute coast period before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+1:18:56.9:<\/strong><strong> Centaur Ignition 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32224\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32224\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32224\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mes2-678x381.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mes2.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_mes2-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32224\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Producing 22,900 pounds of thrust, the Centaur re-ignites to accelerate the InSight payload with enough velocity to escape Earth\u2019s gravitational bond. This burn lasts 5 minutes, 23 seconds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+1:24:19.8: Centaur Cutoff 2<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32225\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32225\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32225\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_meco2-678x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_meco2.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/a5_meco2-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32225\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The second Centaur firing places the InSight payload on an Earth escape trajectory. After engine shutdown, the Centaur stage will begin re-orienting for deployment of InSight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+1:33:19.8: InSight Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32226\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32226\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32226\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/insight_sep-678x383.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/insight_sep.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/insight_sep-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32226\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 1,530-pound (694-kilogram) InSight spacecraft deploys from the Centaur upper stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+1:33:53.8: MarCO-A Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32227\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32227\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32227\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marco_a_sep-678x380.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marco_a_sep-678x381.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marco_a_sep-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marco_a_sep-768x431.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marco_a_sep.jpg 852w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32227\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The first of NASA\u2019s Mars Cube One satellites, designed to relay communications from InSight during its landing on Mars, releases from an aft bulkhead carrier on the Centaur stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>T+1:34:41.8: MarCO-B Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32228\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32228\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32228\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marco_b_separation-678x378.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"378\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marco_b_separation.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/marco_b_separation-300x167.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32228\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The second of NASA\u2019s Mars Cube One spacecraft is released from the Centaur\u2019s aft bulkhead carrier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A United Launch Atlas 5 rocket is set to dispatch NASA\u2019s InSight lander toward Mars, kicking off an interplanetary journey from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The 188-foot-tall (57-meter) rocket, propelled by an RD-180 main engine, is set for liftoff during a two-hour launch window Saturday that opens at 4:05 a.m. EDT (7:05 a.m. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[724,2964,927,1183,25,2206,472,367],"class_list":["post-13819","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-atlas-5","tag-av-078","tag-insight","tag-jet-propulsion-laboratory","tag-launch","tag-launch-timeline","tag-lockheed-martin","tag-mars"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13819"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13819"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13819\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}