Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent into space from Cape Canaveral with the Eutelsat 115 West B and ABS 3A communications satellites.
Launch is set for 10:50 p.m. EST on March 1 (0350 GMT on March 2) from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. The satellites will be deployed in a supersynchronous transfer orbit with perigee of approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles), an apogee of 63,000 kilometers (39,146 miles) and an inclination of 24.8 degrees.
Updated March 1 with correct orbit targets.
Data source: ABS
T-0:00:00: Liftoff
After the rocket’s nine Merlin engines pass an automated health check, four hold-down clamps will release the Falcon 9 booster for liftoff from Complex 40.
T+0:01:13: Mach 1
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Mach 1, the speed of sound.
T+0:01:24: Max Q
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.
T+0:02:56: MECO
The Falcon 9’s nine Merlin 1D engines cut off.
T+0:02:58: Stage 1 Separation
The Falcon 9’s first stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.
T+0:03:06: Stage 2 Ignition
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for an approximately 6-minute burn.
T+0:03:51: Fairing Jettison
The 5.2-meter (17.1-foot) diameter payload fairing jettisons once the Falcon 9 rocket ascends through the dense lower atmosphere. The 43-foot-tall fairing is made of two clamshell-like halves composed of carbon fiber with an aluminum honeycomb core.
T+0:08:50: SECO 1
The second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket shuts down after completing the first of two burns.
T+0:25:42: Second Stage Restart
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine reignites for a brief firing to place the payload in the correct orbit for deployment.
T+0:26:41: SECO 2
The Falcon 9’s vacuum-rated Merlin engine shuts down after a second burn.
T+0:30:08: ABS 3A Separation
The ABS 3A spacecraft, with a launch mass of approximately 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds), deploys from the dual-payload stack on the Falcon 9 rocket.
T+0:35:08: Eutelsat 115 West B Separation
The Eutelsat 115 West B satellite, with a launch mass of about 2,200 kilograms (4,850 pounds), deploys from the Falcon 9 rocket.
The dual mission satellite will help better monitor both weather patterns as well as air quality over Europe and North Africa. SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday, July 1, at 5:04 p.m. EDT (2104 UTC).
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft departed the International Space Station on Wednesday at 9:19 a.m. EDT (1319 GMT), concluding the commercial spaceship’s eighth visit to the complex. Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean occurred at 2:55 p.m. EDT (1855 GMT).
NASA cited the complexity of Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser space plane and an uncertainty of when the proposed crew transport craft would be ready to fly astronauts to the International Space Station as the primary reasons the agency picked Boeing and SpaceX for lucrative contracts to develop commercial space taxis.
