T-00:02.73	Engine Start
	The Russian-built RD-180 engine rumbles to life and builds to 74 percent thrust. A health check of eight engine parameters is performed by the rocket's onboard computer a half-second before liftoff.
T+00:00	Launch
	The maiden flight of Atlas 3B begins as the rocket is released from pad 36B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
T+00:02	Roll and Pitch Programs
	During the vertical ascent Atlas completes a 7-second roll maneuver to align itself with proper flight azimuth. Following the roll, the rocket begins a pitch-over maneuver with Centaur inertial guidance system in control of pitch and yaw programs.
T+00:06	Throttle Up
	The RD-180 engine is throttled up from its liftoff thrust of 74 percent to over 90 percent after the rocket clears the launch pad 36B tower.
T+00:35	Throttle Down
	The RD-180 engine is throttled down to a thrust level of about 67 percent to ease the rocket through the dense lower atmosphere.
T+01:05	Through Max-Q
	The rocket passes through maximum dynamic pressure and goes transonic. The RD-180 now throttles back up to its cruise setting of about 87 percent thrust, ramping up to 5.5 g's.
T+02:50	Throttle Down
	To prepare for the upcoming engine shutdown, the RD-180 is once again throttled down, this time to 47 percent.
T+03:01.3	Booster Engine Cutoff
	The RD-180 engine is commanded to cut off once minimum residual propellant is sensed inside the Atlas booster stage.
T+03:07.6	Atlas/Centaur Separation
	Six seconds after engine shutdown, the Atlas booster stage separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next 11 seconds, the Centaur liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied for engine ignition and the nozzle extensions are deployed.
T+03:18.6	Centaur 1st Main Engine Start
	MES 1, the longer of the two Centaur firings, begins to inject the upper stage and EchoStar 7 communications satellite into a low altitude parking orbit around Earth.
T+03:36.3	Jettison Payload Fairing
	The 14-foot diameter aluminum payload fairing that protected the EchoStar 7 satellite during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits.
T+08:49.8	Centaur Main Engine Cutoff
	MECO 1 occurs when the single Centaur engine is shut down, with the rocket arriving in a planned parking orbit. The vehicle begins a coast period over the mid-Atlantic before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.
T+22:40.4	Centaur Main Engine Re-start
	MES 2 occurs over the Atlantic Ocean between the African Ivory Coast and Ascension Island before the rocket passes just north of the equator. The burn accelerates the vehicle and satellite into the required geosynchronous transfer orbit.
T+24:47.9	Centaur Main Engine Cutoff
	At the point of MECO 2, the Centaur/EchoStar 7 vehicle should be in the required transfer orbit, completing the powered phase of the launch. The stage then begins aligning to the satellite separation attitude.
T+28:27.9	Spacecraft Separation
	The EchoStar 7 direct-to-home TV broadcasting satellite is released into space from the Centaur upper stage to complete the AC-204 launch -- the maiden flight of Lockheed Martin's Atlas 3B rocket.

Image and data source: International Launch Services and Lockheed Martin Astronautics.