The Rainbow 1 satellite, owned by Cablevision Systems Corp. and built by Lockheed Martin Corp., was headed for a stationary orbit 22,000 miles above Earth. It should begin providing direct-to-home service to North America later this year, according to Lockheed, which built the satellite as well as the rocket.
This was the third launch of an Atlas 5, which made its debut 11 months ago. It is one of two new heavy-lift rockets, along with Boeing Co's Delta 4, sponsored by the U.S. Air Force.
The 7:45 p.m. EDT liftoff was delayed about 25 minutes until storm clouds had cleared the launch site and officials had satisfied themselves indications of a minute fuel leak were no cause for concern, a Lockheed spokesman said.
