After some delays due to vehicle issues (which I believe were reported as a “false positive” in an error detection system) and a minor issue with the Eastern Missile Range (Remember, rocket launches are subject to USAF missile range safety protocol), The NOAA/NASA satellite was successfully released from the upper stage of it’s Atlas V / Centaur launch vehicle after a coast phase, which brought it to its proper orbital altitude and position over the Western Hemisphere.
The launch itself, while delayed, was quite a sight. The only problem I had with it was the NASA live feed was interrupted by the hatch opening of Soyuz MS-03 to the International Space Station, which it had just docked with a few hours earlier. Granted, this is of course always a major event, but it was a little annoying to have it interrupt the livestream so abruptly.
In whatever case, NASA quickly uploaded the launch video on YouTube, which I will present here, as always, for you to enjoy. Something I love is the double “fwoop” sound on ignition, first when the RD-180 engines of the Atlas V ignited, then again as the solid rocket motors ignited a second or so later. It’s nice to see (and hear) the classic sound of the flames being routed through the old Titan-era flame duct.
Enjoy the launch. For what it’s worth, the livestream cut out just after solid rocket booster jettison, so I missed out on seeing the rest of the events (like staging) live.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GOES-R