A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket blasts off carrying NASA's Juno mission at Kennedy Space Center, on August 5, 2011. Four lightning protection towers surround the rocket.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket blasts off carrying NASA's Juno mission at Kennedy Space Center, on August 5, 2011. The launch marks the second of five launches for NASA in 2011.
An Atlas V rocket launches with the Juno spacecraft payload from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Friday, August 5, 2011. The Juno spacecraft will make a five-year, 400-million-mile voyage to Jupiter, orbit the planet, investigate its origin and evolution with eight instruments to probe its internal structure and gravity field, measure water and ammonia in its atmosphere, map its powerful magnetic field and observe its intense auroras.
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket blasts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at 12:25 p.m. EDT with the Juno spacecraft for NASA. The launch of the Juno mission marks the second of five NASA missions scheduled to launch this year on ULA vehicles within a six month timeframe. Juno will improve our understanding of our solar system’s beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter. After a five-year journey, Juno will spend a year and 33 orbits studying many scientific aspects of the largest planet in our solar system.
An Atlas V rocket launches with the Juno spacecraft payload from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Friday, August 5, 2011. The Juno spacecraft will make a five-year, 400-million-mile voyage to Jupiter, orbit the planet, investigate its origin and evolution with eight instruments to probe its internal structure and gravity field, measure water and ammonia in its atmosphere, map its powerful magnetic field and observe its intense auroras.
Astronaut Nicole Stott caught Juno's launch on August 5, 2011. She tweeted the picture with this comment: "Our view of Juno launch from Cocoa Beach. Next stop Jupiter! Beautiful!"
An Atlas V rocket launches with the Juno spacecraft payload from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Friday, August 5, 2011. The Juno spacecraft will make a five-year, 400-million-mile voyage to Jupiter, orbit the planet, investigate its origin and evolution with eight instruments to probe its internal structure and gravity field, measure water and ammonia in its atmosphere, map its powerful magnetic field and observe its intense auroras.
Two solid rocket boosters can be seen separating from the Atlas 5 rocket carrying NASA Juno spacecraft to orbit Aug. 5, 2011.
Telemetry data from NASA's Juno launch shows an illustration of the spacecraft attached to its Centaur upper stage rocket after liftoff on Aug. 5, 2011.
Juno spacecraft launches aboard the Atlas 5 launch vehicle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, 12:25 EDT, August 5, 2011.
Juno spacecraft launches aboard the Atlas 5 launch vehicle at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, 12:25 EDT, August 5, 2011.
An Atlas 5 rocket streaks across the sky carrying NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft Aug. 5, 2011.
An Atlas 5 rocket blasts off, carrying NASA's Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft.
Juno spacecraft aboard an Atlas 5 launch vehicle appears to fly diagonally through the frame a few moments after launch on August 5, 2011 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Three LEGO figurines representing the Roman god Jupiter (right), his wife Juno (middle) and Galileo Galilei (left) as shown here will fly to Jupiter on NASA’s Juno spacecraft.
Friday, August 5, 2011: NASA's Juno spacecraft will carry a plaque dedicated to astronomer Galileo Galilei to Jupiter, with a scheduled launch date of August 5, 2011. The plaque, provided by the Italian Space Agency, measures 2.8 by 2 inches (71 by 51 millimeters), is made of flight-grade aluminum and weighs six grams (0.2 ounces). The plaque contains a self-portrait of Galileo and a passage he wrote in 1610 of observations of Jupiter. Galileo's text reads: "On the 11th it was in this formation – and the star closest to Jupiter was half the size than the other and very close to the other so that during the previous nights all of the three observed stars looked of the same dimension and among them equally afar; so that it is evident that around Jupiter there are three moving stars invisible till this time to everyone."
— Tom Chao
The Juno spacecraft passes in front of Jupiter in this artist's depiction.
NASA's Juno spacecraft lifts off atop an Atlas 5 rocket Aug. 5, 2011.
The Juno spacecraft, folded up and awaiting encapsulation in the rocket fairing. The 13-foot-long magnetometer boom, wrapped in bright thermal blankets, is in the foreground atop a stack of folded solar arrays. One of the twin magnetometers is mounted in the middle of the boom, and the other is mounted at the outermost end. Next to each magnetometer sensor is a pair of rectangular hoods, or light baffles, peeking out from under the thermal blankets; these define the fields of view for the two star cameras, which determine the orientation of each magnetometer sensor with great accuracy.
NASA's Juno spacecraft awaits launch from inside the payload fairing atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V-551 launch vehicle. Juno and its rocket are at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
In preparation for launch of NASA's Juno mission, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is rolled to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral.
In preparation for launch of NASA's Juno mission, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is rolled to the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral.
In preparation for launch of NASA's Juno mission, a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is rolled to the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral.
