Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the Formosat 5 Earth observation satellite for Taiwan’s National Space Organization.
The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 11:50 a.m. PDT (2:50 p.m. EDT; 1850 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
Data source: SpaceX
T-0:00:00: Liftoff
After the rocket’s nine Merlin 1D engines pass an automated health check, the Falcon 9 is released from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
T+0:01:09: Max-Q
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure. The first stage’s nine Merlin 1D engines produce about 1.7 million pounds of thrust.
T+0:02:28: MECO
The Falcon 9’s nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.
T+0:02:32: Stage 1 Separation
The Falcon 9’s first stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.
T+0:02:39: Stage 2 Ignition
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for an approximately six-and-a-half minute burn to guide the Formosat 5 satellite into orbit.
T+0:02:53: 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+0:08:45: Stage 1 Entry Burn
A subset of the first stage’s Merlin 1D engines ignite for an entry burn to slow down for landing. A final landing burn will occur just before touchdown.
T+0:09:17: SECO 1
The Merlin 1D vacuum engine turns off after placing the Formosat 5 satellite into its planned sun-synchronous orbit.
T+0:10:47: Stage 1 Landing
The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster touches down on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
T+0:11:18: Formosat 5 Separation
The Formosat 5 spacecraft deploys from the Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage to begin its five-year Earth observation mission.
Maxar’s eagle-eyed WorldView 3 satellite captured high-resolution views Monday of NASA’s twin Apollo-era launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, both now home to new launch vehicles 50 years after humans took their first steps on the moon.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch an Intelsat communications satellite with a NASA-funded air pollution monitor to be positioned over the Americas in 2022, officials announced Tuesday.
A commercial Dragon cargo capsule will remain at the International Space Station until Saturday, three days later than previously planned due to high sea states observed by the SpaceX recovery team in the spaceship’s splashdown zone in the Pacific Ocean.
