Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN)
Launching Site NASA's MAVEN mission began with a launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41, with the latitude of 28.583333° N, 80.583056° W. Launching at this site is advantageous as it is possible to make use of the earth's rotation, as the linear velocity of planetary revolution on earth surface is greater the closer it is towards the equator, done by launching eastwards. Another advantage is the sparsely populated downrange area, being an ocean, especially since modern rockets uses multiple stages, so when a stage runs out of fuel and serves no more function the said stage can be discarded into the ocean. Figure 1. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41. Figure 2. Cape Canaveral Location Launch Vehicle The MAVEN used the Atlas V 401 version launch system. It has the specifications of: Payload : 7,095 kg (15,642 lb) Thrust : 3,827 kN (860,343 lbf) Gross Mass : 338,640 kg (746,570 lb)
