Live at the Cape: Atlas V Launch At 12:48 AM

BLOGGER NOTE: You can watch a live United Launch Alliance broadcast of the Atlas V launch starting at 12:28 a.m. Saturday.

Just click: Watch It Live

BLOGGER UPDATE, 7:03 PM: The weather forecast just went from good to near-perfect. Launch weather officers now say there is a 90 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for launch.

BLOGGER UPDATE, 5:50 PM: The countdown to the launch of the Atlas V and a commercial communications satellite is under way at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Countdown clocks started ticking backward at 5:48 p.m. at the T-Minus 6 hour, 20-minute mark. Engineers applied electrical power to both the Atlas first stage and the rocket's Centaur upper stage. Liftoff remains set for 12:48 a.m. Saturday. The launch window will extend through 2:18 a.m. The weather forecast is 70 percent "go."

An Atlas V rocket is scheduled to blast off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
overnight.

The 19-story rocket and its payload -- the Intelsat-14 spacecraft -- have a liftoff time of 12:48 a.m. Saturday. The launch window will extend through 2:18 a.m.

Air Force meteorologists say there is a 70 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for launch.

Check out the Official Weather Forecast from the Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron. The squadron provides tracking, range safety and weather forecasting services for all launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

For the forecast, click here.

The Intelsat-14 spacecraft will join the world's largest fixed satellite services fleet. Established in 1964, Intelsat operates more than 50 commercial communications satellites that provide service to 1,800 customers in 200 countries.

The spacecraft being launched Saturday is equipped with 66 channels that will beam signals to customers in North America, Central America, South America, Europe and Africa.

It also is outfitted with a U.S. Department of Defense payload designed to demonstrate a capability to beam the Internet through space.

Read today's story about Mark Jonas who grew up in Cocoa watching launches and today plays a key role on all Atlas launches. Read that here.

FLORIDA TODAY will be bringing you live launch coverage so keep checking back for more updates.

ABOUT THE IMAGES: Click to enlarge and save the United Launch Alliance images of the Atlas V rocket bathed in xenon floodlights at Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. You can also click the enlarged image to get an even bigger, more detailed view. Photo Credit: Pat Corkery/United Launch Alliance.