ATlas 5 launches AMC-16 Dec. 17, 2004
Launch was targeted to go at 4:41 a.m. EST (0941 GMT). But work fell behind schedule, prompting mission managers to reset the liftoff time later in the day's available two-hour, 40-minute launch period.
Clocks were inside three minutes to launch when a faulty indicator gave an errant reading on the first stage liquid oxygen fill and drain valve's positioning. The glitch was solved and the countdown recycled, culminating with a sunrise liftoff at 7:07 a.m. EST (1207 GMT) this morning. But low-hanging clouds pestering the Space Coast spoiled what was sure to be a beautiful morning ascent as the rocket rose into the sky on the bone-shaking roar from its million-pound-thrust main engine and a pair of powerful strap-on solid-fuel boosters. AMC-16 is an American communications satellite. Owned by SES Americom, AMC-16 was designed to be placed in geostationary orbit, following launch from Cape Canaveral, FL. Launch Complex 41
Read MoreClocks were inside three minutes to launch when a faulty indicator gave an errant reading on the first stage liquid oxygen fill and drain valve's positioning. The glitch was solved and the countdown recycled, culminating with a sunrise liftoff at 7:07 a.m. EST (1207 GMT) this morning. But low-hanging clouds pestering the Space Coast spoiled what was sure to be a beautiful morning ascent as the rocket rose into the sky on the bone-shaking roar from its million-pound-thrust main engine and a pair of powerful strap-on solid-fuel boosters. AMC-16 is an American communications satellite. Owned by SES Americom, AMC-16 was designed to be placed in geostationary orbit, following launch from Cape Canaveral, FL. Launch Complex 41
