Dawn Launched: 27 Sep

7:35 a.m. – Six of the solid-fueled boosters have burned out and fallen away from the Delta II rocket. The three remaining boosters ignited to help speed the Dawn spacecraft on its way. .

7:34 a.m. – The Delta II has reached Mach 1 thirty seconds after launch. .

7:34 a.m. - LIFTOFF!

7:33 a.m. - T- 1 minute and counting . . .

7:32 a.m. – T- 2 minutes and counting . . .

7:31 a.m. – Dawn is in the last stage of the countdown. Computers and sensors on the computer and spacecraft are signaling they are ready for launch. .

7:30 a.m. - T-4 minutes and counting . . . Controllers gave their "go" for launch and Dawn remains on schedule for a 7:20 a.m. liftoff.

7:26 a.m. - The new launch time comes at the end of a collision avoidance window. That means Dawn would have come closer than allowed to an object already in orbit if it had launched between 7:27 a.m. and 7:33 a.m. Because the object is moving at orbital speed, it takes only a few minutes to move out of the way. Meanwhile, the ship that violated the exclusion area has also moved out of the way.

7:24 a.m. - NEW LAUNCH TIME: 7:34 a.m.

NASA - NASA's Launch Blog - Dawn Mission to Vesta and Ceres
"7:24 a.m. - NEW LAUNCH TIME: 7:34 a.m.
7:20 a.m. - A ship has entered the exclusion area offshore. The ship is in the area where the solid-fueled boosters would fall. The ship should be out of the area by 7:25 a.m. A new launch time has not been set.
7:12 a.m. - The final "go" has been issued for launch at 7:20 a.m.
7:06 a.m. - T-4 minutes and holding . . . The countdown has entered its last planned pause. "
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/launch/launch-blog.html

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Dawn's launch day has been delayed 24 hours to Sept. 27. Weather prevented techinicians from completing the loading of fuel on the Delta rocket's second stage.

The Dawn Mission will be the first time a spacecraft will orbit two planetary bodies on a single voyage as it studies Ceres and Vesta.
Launch window: 7:25 to 7:54 a.m. EDT
NASA - NASA's Shuttle and Rocket Missions
http://www.nasa.gov/missions/highlights/schedule.html

NASA names the day for Dawn raid on asteroid belt | The Register
"The agency gets three chances. Although each window is short, there is a launch opportunity on each of the 26, 27, and 28 September, so even if a storm threatens on 26 September, the asteroid hunter could still see space next week."
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/09/18/dawn_launch_date/