All Systems Go For 5:13 PM Ariane 5 Launch

The final stages of a countdown to the planned launch of an Ariane 5 rocket is under way at a South American spaceport as the European Space Agency prepares to send a robotic freighter on a supply run to the International Space Station.

The powerful rocket and its cargo -- the Automated Transfer Vehicle 2, dubbed Johannes Kepler after the German astronomer -- are slated to blast off from Launch Complex 3 at Guiana Space Center in French Guiana at 5:13 p.m. You can watch the launch live here in The Flame Trench. Click the NASA TV box on the right to launch our NASA TV viewer and live coverage.

NASA officials monitoring the launch say all systems are go for launch of the 56th Arian 5 mission. The rocket rolled out to its launch pad from an assembly building yesterday. An on-time launch would lead to a Feb. 23 docking at the space station.