Rising like a torch in the cloudy predawn darkness, an Atlas 5 rocket lifts the “direct-to-home” broadcast satellite AMC-16 into orbit for SES AMERICOM. Breaking out of the dark cloud cover, the rocket reappears, large picture, at altitude flaring with reflected sunlight from the Sun just below the horizon. Behind the rocket, at the lower edge of the exhaust trail, a discarded solid rocket booster also catches the Sun to highlight its position. This commercial launch took place at 7:07 a.m. on 17 December 2004 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
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