The Lockheed Martin launch operations team is preparing for a 5:37 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time liftoff. Atlas III will launch the W4 satellite for EUTELSAT.

The launch was scrubbed last night because of a malfunctioning radar at a Bermuda tracking station. The tracking station is expected to be up and running to support today's launch operation.

The window remains the same� 5:37 to 7:57 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The weather forecast for today's launch calls for 90% favorable conditions.

The Atlas 3 is a combination of the Atlas 2 but revved up with the new RD-180 engine built by Pratt & Whitney and NPO Energomash.

For Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, the flight of AC-201 is the next step in the company's planned evolution of expendable launch vehicles to address the world's future launch needs and is a stepping stone to the Atlas V family of vehicles.

It is the culmination of a rigorous development and testing program to qualify the new RD-180 engine for the Atlas III and V boosters, which began in 1995 when the RD-180 was selected from three candidate engines.

"It has been a long road leading to the first flight of Atlas III and the first use of the RD-180," said G. Thomas Marsh, president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Astronautics Operations. "The tremendous commitment of the technical teams and the strong partnerships that have developed on both sides of the world have made this joint effort extremely successful."

The new RD-180 is marketed and sold by RD AMROSS, LLC, a joint venture formed by Pratt & Whitney, an operating unit of United Technologies Corporation based in West Palm Beach, FL, and NPO Energomash, Khimky, Russia.

The engine used on AC-201 (designated 2T) has been built by NPO Energomash. Pratt & Whitney has been a supplier of the Centaur upper stage RL10 engines since the flight of Atlas Centaur AC-2 in November 1963.

With the RD-180, this will mark the first use ever of a Russian propulsion system on a U.S. designed launch vehicle and represents a major breakthrough on several levels.

Lockheed Martin sees this international partnership with RD AMROSS and NPO Energomash as the way to ensure very efficient and reliable access to space. It brings international technical excellence together on a truly global scale.

The Atlas III launch vehicles provide a major increase in performance capability through the use of the RD-180 engine. The RD-180 burns liquid oxygen and RP-1 propellant and can be throttled up or down throughout the boost phase of flight, replacing the stage-and-a-half booster and four solid rocket boosters used by the Atlas IIAS.

The increased performance that is gained through use of the superior RD-180 engine in the Atlas IIIA booster allows for the two Centaur upper stage engines to be replaced with a single engine Centaur. This streamlined propulsion approach is designed to increase reliability and reduce staging events and operational complexities.

The Atlas III stands taller than the Atlas IIAS because of a ten-foot stretch to the liquid oxygen tank and interstage adapter. The rocket has a redesigned aft end to accommodate the two-bell RD-180 engine in contrast to the existing three-bell booster and sustainer engine of the Atlas II family.

AC-201 total thrust developed at sea level is 617,400 lb., which is 74 percent of the power level available on Atlas III for liftoff. Overall Atlas III thrust capability is 860,200 lb., enough to lift a satellite weighing 4,500 kg (9,920 lb.).

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