If you get a chance to head outside Thursday evening, I’d recommend it. We have an Atlas V rocket launch scheduled at 7:46 p.m. from Cape Canaveral. The launch window lasts for 40 minutes.

The weather shouldn’t be a problem unless thick cumulus clouds linger along the coast at launch time. Launch favorability is at 80 percent. The temperature should be a pleasant 70 degrees.

The United Launch Alliance booster will be putting a military satellite into orbit. It will be in a geosynchronous orbit and watching for incoming threats like missiles. The satellite is called Space Base Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbit satellite Number 3.

By the way, the Atlas 5 will lift the 10,000 pound satellite with 860,000 pounds of thrust from its main engine. Night launches are very cool looking with the east coast lighting up during lift-off!