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Vega launch timeline
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: April 27, 2014

Vega
This graphic shows the sequence of events during Vega's third launch. Credit: Arianespace
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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.
T+00:00:31 Mach 1
The Vega rocket surpasses the speed of sound as it soars on a northerly trajectory from French Guiana.
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.
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.
T+00:01:54 Second Stage Ignition
The Vega rocket's Zefiro 23 second stage motor fires to begin its 102-second burn.
T+00:03:36 Second Stage Separation
The Zefiro 23 motor burns out and jettisons at an altitude of about 93 miles.
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.
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.
T+00:06:14 Third Stage Separation
The Zefiro 9 third stage shuts down and separates, having accelerated the rocket to nearly orbital velocity.
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.
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.
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.
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.
T+00:55:29 DZZ-HR Separation
The DZZ-HR satellite is deployed from the Vega rocket's AVUM upper stage.

Data source: Arianespace

MISSION STATUS CENTER