A Lockheed Martin-built Atlas 5 rocket is being readied for a launch next week on a mission to deploy a satellite that will beam television programming to European customers.
The Atlas 5 and its payload -- a direct broadcast satellite owned by SES ASTRA of Luxembourg -- is scheduled to blast off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station next Thursday.
The launch window for the mission will extend from 4:27 p.m. to 7:17 p.m. EDT. The 9,550-pound spacecraft is to be deployed from the Atlas 5 one hour and 48 minutes after launch. It is expected to operate in orbit for 15 years.
The 191-foot rocket will be the first Atlas 5 to fly with a single solid rocket booster. Its first stage will be powered by a single RD-180 engine and it has a single-engine Centaur upper stage.
Launch managers are holding a mission success review today. At this point, there are no technical issues that would prohibit a launch attempt next Thursday.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
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