Phoenix was launched on August 4, 2007, at 5:26:34 a.m. EDT (09:26:34 UTC) on a Delta II 7925 launch vehicle from Pad 17-A of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The launch was nominal with no significant anomalies.
The Phoenix lander was placed on a trajectory of such precision that its first trajectory course correction burn, performed on August 10, 2007 at 7:30 a.m. EDT (11:30 UTC), was only 18 m/s.
The launch took place during a launch window extending from August 3, 2007 to August 24, 2007.
Due to the small launch window, the rescheduled launch of the Dawn mission (originally planned for July 7) had to be launched after Phoenix in September.
The Delta II rocket was chosen due to its successful launch history, which includes launches of the Spirit and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers in 2003 and Mars Pathfinder in 1996.

A noctilucent cloud was created by the exhaust gas from the Delta II 7925 rocket used to launch Phoenix.
The colors in the cloud formed from the prism-like effect of the ice particles present in the exhaust trail.
Phoenix was launched on August 4, 2007, at 5:26:34 a.m. EDT (09:26:34 UTC) on a Delta II 7925 launch vehicle from Pad 17-A of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch was nominal with no significant anomalies. The Phoenix lander was placed on a trajectory of such precision that its first trajectory course correction burn, performed on August 10, 2007 at 7:30 a.m. EDT (11:30 UTC), was only 18 m/s. The launch took place during a launch window extending from August 3, 2007 to August 24, 2007. Due to the small launch window, the rescheduled launch of the Dawn mission (originally planned for July 7) had to be launched after Phoenix in September. The Delta II rocket was chosen due to its successful launch history, which includes launches of the Spirit and Opportunity Mars Exploration Rovers in 2003 and Mars Pathfinder in 1996.
A noctilucent cloud was created by the exhaust gas from the Delta II 7925 rocket used to launch Phoenix. The colors in the cloud formed from the prism-like effect of the ice particles present in the exhaust trail.
Phoenix (spacecraft)