T-00:00:00 |
End of Gyro Setting |
The countdown reaches zero at 1202:15 GMT (7:02:15 a.m. EST) with the initialization of Rockot's navigation system. Liftoff occurs 14 seconds later. |
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T+00:00:14 |
Liftoff |
The 95-foot-tall Rockot launch vehicle lifts off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 1202:29 (7:02:29 a.m. EST). The launch vehicle, which blasts off from inside an above-ground transport and launch container, weighs about 107 metric tons at liftoff. Rockot's four first stage engines generate 420,000 pounds of sea level thrust. |
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T+00:00:50 |
Max-Q |
Traveling at 567 meters per second (1,268 mph) at an altitude of 10.7 kilometers (35,105 feet), the Rockot encounters maximum aerodynamic pressure. |
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T+00:02:16 |
First Stage Separation/Second Stage Ignition |
The first stage consumes its supply of hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants, and four solid-fueled retrorockets fire to separate it from the second stage. The second stage's liquid-fueled RD-0235 main engine fires with 54,000 pounds of thrust, and an RD-0236 vernier engine provides directional control during the second stage burn. |
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T+00:03:04 |
Fairing Jettison |
The Rockot's 2.6-meter (8.5-foot) diameter is released in two clamshell-like halves once the rocket is above the dense lower layers of the atmosphere. |
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T+00:05:19 |
Second Stage Separation |
The Rockot's second stage shuts down and separates from the Breeze KM upper stage, completing the phase of the flight using the Soviet-era decommissioned SS-19 ballistic missile. |
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T+00:05:25 |
First Breeze KM Ignition |
After the Rockot places the Breeze KM and Swarm into a suborbital trajectory, the Breeze KM upper stage's main engine ignites to reach a parking orbit. |
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T+00:14:41 |
First Breeze KM Shutdown |
The Breeze KM upper stage ends its first burn to reach a parking orbit and begins a 61-minute coast period. |
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T+01:15:54 |
Second Breeze KM Ignition |
The Breeze KM engine reignites for 16 seconds to inject Swarm into the proper orbit. |
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T+01:16:10 |
Second Breeze KM Shutdown |
The Breeze KM engine ends its second burn to place the three Swarm satellites into a 490-kilometer (304-mile) circular orbit with an inclination of 87.6 degrees. |
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T+01:31:32 |
Swarm Separation |
The three 1,043-pound Swarm spacecraft simultaneously separate from the Breeze KM upper stage at 1333:47 GMT (8:33:47 a.m. EST). |
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T+01:31:58 |
Swarm A & B Acquisition |
Moments after separation, signals from two of the three Swarm spacecraft will be acquired from a tracking station in Kiruna, Sweden. |
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T+01:35:28 |
Swarm C Acquisition |
Signals from the third Swarm satellite will be acquired from a tracking station in Svalbard, Norway. |
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