SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Friday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite into orbit around 33 minutes later.
The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is poised for launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:14 p.m. EDT (2014 GMT) Friday at the opening of a 127-minute launch window.
It will be the first launch of SpaceX’s upgraded “Block 5” version of the workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, featuring changes to make the vehicle easier to reuse and more reliable.
Perched atop the rocket is the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite, a spacecraft made by Thales Alenia Space for the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission. Bangabandhu 1 is the country’s first communications satellite, and it is named for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of the Bangladeshi nation.
The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the Falcon 9 flight with Bangabandhu 1.
Data source: SpaceX
T-0:00:00: Liftoff
After the rocket’s nine Merlin engines pass an automated health check, hold-down clamps will release the Falcon 9 booster for liftoff from pad 39A.
T+0:01:08: Mach 1
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Mach 1, the speed of sound, as the nine Merlin 1D engines provide more than 1.7 million pounds of thrust.
T+0:01:14: Max Q
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.
T+0:02:31: MECO
The Falcon 9’s nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.
T+0:02:33: Stage 1 Separation
The Falcon 9’s first stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.
T+0:02:36: First Ignition of Second Stage
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for a six-minute burn to put the rocket and Bangabandhu 1 into a preliminary parking orbit.
T+0:03:37: 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+0:06:15: 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+0:08:10: Stage 1 Landing
The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster touches down on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
T+0:08:19: SECO 1
The second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket shuts down after reaching a preliminary low-altitude orbit. The upper stage and Bangabandhu 1 begin a coast phase scheduled to last more than 19 minutes before the second stage Merlin vacuum engine reignites.
T+0:27:38: Second Ignition of Second Stage
The Falcon 9’s second stage Merlin engine restarts to propel the Bangabandhu 1 communications satellite into a supersynchronous transfer orbit.
T+0:28:37: SECO 2
The Merlin engine shuts down after a short burn to put the Bangabandhu 1 satellite in the proper orbit for deployment.
T+0:33:38: Bangabandhu 1 Separation
The Bangabandhu 1 satellite separates from the Falcon 9 rocket in a geostationary transfer orbit with a perigee of 186 miles (300 kilometers), an apogee of 22,186 miles (35,706 kilometers) and an inclination of 19.3 degrees.
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