Perfect launch of Mars Science Lab
NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft — which includes the newest Red Planet rover, the car-sized Curiosity — began its mission with an on-time launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket Nov. 26, 2011 at 10:02 a.m. EST.
The Atlas V lifted off with MSL on the first opportunity, rising from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida following a smooth countdown throughout the morning. Although clouds occasionally drifted through the launch area during fueling operations, conditions were favorable at launch time, as forecasters had predicted.
MSL separated from the …
