spacetoday.net: Phoenix launched on mission to Mars

Phoenix launched on mission to Mars

Posted: Sat, Aug 4, 2007, 8:58 AM ET (1258 GMT)
Delta 2 launch of Phoenix (NASA/KSC)

A Delta 2 successfully launched NASA's latest mission to the Red Planet on Saturday morning. The Delta 2 7925 lifted off from pad 17A at Cape Canaveral at 5:26 am EDT (0926 GMT) carrying NASA's Phoenix Mars lander spacecraft. Phoenix separated from the rocket's third stage nearly 90 minutes after liftoff, following a Mars trajectory injection burn. There were no problems with the countdown and launch, although telemetry acquisition problems during some phases of the launch made it difficult to ascertain the status of the mission. Phoenix will land near the north polar ice cap of Mars in May 2008; it carries instruments to look for and analyze subsurface water ice.