Launch Photos: EchoStar 19 Satellite Launches Into Orbit on Atlas V Rocket

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Atlas V and EchoStar 19

United Launch Alliance/Lockheed Martin

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launched the EchoStar 19 high-speed internet satellite into orbit on Dec. 18, 2016 from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. See launch photos in our gallery here. THIS IMAGE: The Atlas V is seen bathed in light atop its Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on the eve of its launch.

Liftoff!

United Launch Alliance

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches the EchoStar 19 communications satellite into orbit from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on Dec. 18, 2016.

Next Stop: Space

United Launch Alliance/Lockheed Martin

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying EchoStar XIX satellite lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 2:13 p.m. ET on Dec. 18, 2016.

Ascent

United Launch Alliance/Lockheed Martin

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying EchoStar XIX satellite lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 2:13 p.m. ET on Dec. 18, 2016.

The View Down

United Launch Alliance

A view of Earth from a camera on the Atlas V (a solid rocket booster is visible midscreen) during the successful EchoStar 19 launch.

Exhaust Plume

United Launch Alliance/Lockheed Martin

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying EchoStar XIX satellite lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 2:13 p.m. ET on Dec. 18, 2016.

Stage Separation

United Launch Alliance

The Atlas V rocket's first stage falls away, with a stunning Earth in the background, in this view from a camera on the booster's Centaur upper stage during the EchoStar 19 launch.

Soaring Into Space

United Launch Alliance

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches the EchoStar 19 communications satellite into orbit from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on Dec. 18, 2016.

Atlas V Sunset

United Launch Alliance/Lockheed Martin

The sun sets behind the Atlas V at Space Launch Complex 41 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Behold, EchoStar 19

Space Systems Loral

The EchoStar 19 satellite, built for Hughes by Space Systems Loral of Palo Alto, California, is seen in all its glory while being prepared for launch

One Last Look

United Launch Alliance/Lockheed Martin

United Launch Alliance technicians pack up the EchoStar 19 satellite inside its protective fairing ahead of its Dec. 18, 2016 launch.

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.