Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent into space from Cape Canaveral with the ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B communications satellites.
Launch is set for 10:29 a.m. EDT (1429 GMT) on June 15 from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. The satellites will be deployed in a supersynchronous transfer orbit, but SpaceX and the customers have not disclosed the exact target orbit parameters.
The payloads aboard the 26th Falcon 9 launch were manufactured by Boeing in El Segundo, California, and will steer into their operational geostationary orbits with plasma thrusters, and not a conventional liquid-fueled rocket engine.
The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the Falcon 9 flight with ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B. It does not include times for the descent and landing attempt of the first stage booster, a secondary objective.
SpaceX’s landing platform is positioned about 420 miles (680 kilometers) east of Cape Canaveral for the first stage landing attempt, which is expected around 9 minutes after liftoff. Exact times for the recovery maneuvers were not released by SpaceX.
Data source: SpaceX
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+0:01:17: Max Q
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.
T+0:02:36: MECO
The Falcon 9’s nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.
T+0:02:39: Stage 1 Separation
The Falcon 9’s first stage separates from the second stage three seconds after MECO. The spent stage will descend back to Earth for an attempted landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
T+0:02:47: Stage 2 Ignition
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for a 6-minute, 35-second burn to put the rocket and the ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B satellites into a preliminary parking orbit.
T+0:03:34: 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+0:09:22: SECO 1
The second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket shuts down after reaching a preliminary low-altitude orbit. The upper stage and Thaicom 8 begin a coast phase scheduled to last more than 18 minutes before the second stage Merlin vacuum engine reignites.
T+0:25:54: Second Ignition of Second Stage
The Falcon 9’s second stage Merlin engine restarts to propel the ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B communications satellites into a supersynchronous transfer orbit.
T+0:26:58: SECO 2
The Merlin engine shuts down after a short burn to put the ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B satellites in the proper orbit for deployment.
T+0:30:29: Eutelsat 117 West B Separation
The Eutelsat 117 West B spacecraft, with a launch mass of approximately 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds), deploys from the upper position of the dual-payload stack on the Falcon 9 rocket.
T+0:35:29: ABS 2A Separation
The ABS 2A satellite, with a launch mass of about 2,200 kilograms (4,850 pounds), deploys from the lower position of the dual-payload stack on the Falcon 9 rocket.
SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket stood atop historic launch pad 39A on Monday, one day before 27 kerosene-fueled rocket engines will dispatch the towering rocket into space with nearly 5 million pounds of thrust.
The U.S. Air Force’s X-37B space plane concluded its third mission, streaking through the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean and gliding to an automated landing on a runway at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., after spending a record 675 days in orbit.
In a reshuffling of SpaceX’s launch schedule, a Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff no earlier than Dec. 8 on a mission to deliver several tons of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station and return to service a Cape Canaveral launch pad damaged in a catastrophic rocket explosion last year.
