T-00:00:00 |
First Stage Ignition |
The Vega rocket's first stage P80 solid rocket motor ignites and powers the 98-foot-tall booster off the launch pad 0.3 seconds later. The P80 first stage motor generates a maximum of 683,000 pounds of thrust. |
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T+00:00:31 |
Mach 1 |
The Vega rocket surpasses the speed of sound as it soars on a northerly trajectory from French Guiana. |
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T+00:00:53 |
Maximum Dynamic Pressure |
Flying at an altitude of more than 40,000 feet, the rocket passes through the phase of maximum aerodynamic pressure. |
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T+00:01:53 |
First Stage Separation |
Having consumed its 194,000 pounds of solid propellant, the 9.8-foot-diameter P80 first stage motor is jettisoned at an altitude of about 33 miles. |
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T+00:01:54 |
Second Stage Ignition |
The Vega rocket's Zefiro 23 second stage motor fires to begin its 102-second burn. |
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T+00:03:36 |
Second Stage Separation |
The Zefiro 23 motor burns out and jettisons at an altitude of about 93 miles. |
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T+00:03:51 |
Third Stage Ignition |
Moving at a velocity of nearly 9,000 mph, the Vega rocket's Zefiro 9 motor ignites for the third stage burn. |
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T+00:03:54 |
Fairing Jettison |
The Vega's 8.5-foot-diameter payload fairing is released as the rocket ascends into the upper atmosphere more than 100 miles high. |
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T+00:06:14 |
Third Stage Separation |
The Zefiro 9 third stage shuts down and separates, having accelerated the rocket to nearly orbital velocity. |
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T+00:06:21 |
First AVUM Ignition |
The Vega rocket's Attitude and Vernier Module, or fourth stage, ignites for the first time. The AVUM burns hydrazine fuel with an RD-869 engine provided by Yuzhnoye of Ukraine. |
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T+00:11:52 |
First AVUM Shutdown |
The Vega's AVUM fourth stage is turned off after a 5-minute, 31-second burn, beginning a 41-minute coast until the engine is ignited again. The first AVUM burn places the rocket and its payloads in a parking orbit. |
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T+00:52:35 |
Second AVUM Ignition |
After coasting to an altitude of about 750 kilometers, or 466 miles, the AVUM fires a second time to circularize its orbit. |
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T+00:54:33 |
Second AVUM Shutdown |
The AVUM engine shuts down after reaching a circular 466-mile-high orbit (750 kilometers) with an inclination of 98.5 degrees. |
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T+00:55:29 |
DZZ-HR Separation |
The DZZ-HR satellite is deployed from the Vega rocket's AVUM upper stage. |
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