Solar Orbiter Launch: Countdown Updates Start Now

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, with the Solar Orbiter spacecraft sealed in the payload fairing, awaits liftoff on Sunday, Feb. 9, at Space Launch Complex 41 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, with the Solar Orbiter spacecraft sealed in the payload fairing, awaits liftoff on Sunday, Feb. 9, at Space Launch Complex 41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Image credit: NASA TV

Good evening from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Just a few miles east, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 rocket stands on Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where it’s undergoing final preparations to launch the Solar Orbiter mission at 11:03 p.m. EST. There is a two-hour launch window.

At this time, propellant loading operations are complete, although cryogenic propellants will continue topping to flight levels through the remainder of the countdown. The weather forecast calls for a 90% chance of favorable conditions, although meteorologists will be watching for the possibility of ground winds.

There is one built-in hold remaining. That planned hold – a 15-minute pause in the countdown – is coming up at 10:44 p.m.