Launch of Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover on ULA Atlas V 541 rocket
Video from the channel Space Curiosity about Atlas (familia), linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 13:30. Language: English. Video type: Launch.
The mission
Excerpt from the official broadcast of the launch of the Mars 2020 mission, carrying the Perseverance rover, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541. This rocket was chosen for its performance: it had to place the probe on a trajectory that reaches Mars about seven months later. The launch period, which repeats roughly every 26 months, ran from July 17 to August 15. On July 30 the rocket lifted off on the first of 25 opportunities within a two-hour window.
Sequence
After the countdown, the Atlas V, with its RD-180 engine and four solid rocket boosters, generated just over 2 million pounds of thrust and cleared the tower in about five seconds. Next came the transition to supersonic speed, maximum dynamic pressure, burnout and jettison of the four boosters, and payload fairing separation. The first-stage engine then shut down, the Centaur separated, and its RL10 began its first burn. The commentators explain that this burn leaves the stage in a parking orbit. It is followed by a roughly 30-minute coast phase and a second burn to set course for Mars.
Outcome
The clip ends during the first burn and the coast phase, with all parameters nominal. The second burn and spacecraft separation are not shown.