Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with the another set of 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium’s voice and data relay fleet.
The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Friday at 7:31 a.m. PST (10:31 a.m. EST; 1531 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 4-East at 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+0:01:01: 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+0:02:27: MECO
The Falcon 9’s nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.
T+0:02:30: Stage 1 Separation
The Falcon 9’s first stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.
T+0:02:38: Stage 2 Ignition
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for an approximately 6-minute burn to inject the Iridium Next satellites into a parking orbit.
T+0:03:13: 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. The fairing halves will deploy parafoils for a controlled descent into the Pacific Ocean.
T+0:03:13: Stage 1 Boost-back Burn
A subset of the Falcon 9’s engines ignited to help the rocket reverse course and target a landing on SpaceX’s drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” offshore Vandenberg Air Force Base.
T+0:05:30: 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+0:07:14: Stage 1 Landing
The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster touches down on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
T+0:08:46: SECO 1
The Merlin 1D vacuum engine turns off after placing the Iridium satellites in a temporary parking orbit, beginning at 43-minute coast in space.
T+0:51:48: Stage 2 Restart
The Falcon 9’s second stage engine ignites again for a 9-second burn to circularize its orbit.
T+0:51:51: SECO 2
The Merlin 1D vacuum engine shuts down after reaching a target orbit about 388 miles (625 kilometers) high with an inclination of 86 degrees.
T+0:56:52: Begin Iridium Deployments
The 1,896-pound (860-kilogram) Iridium Next satellites begin deploying from their two-tier dispenser on the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage, separating at intervals of approximately every 90 seconds.
T+1:11:52: End Iridium Deployments
The last of the 10 Iridium Next satellites will separate from the rocket.
United Launch Alliance teams at Cape Canaveral launched an Atlas 5 rocket at 6:13 a.m. EDT (1013 GMT) Thursday with the U.S. Air Force’s fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite. The AEHF 5 satellite will join a network of geostationary relay stations providing secure, jam-resistant video, voice and data links for the U.S. military.
An interplanetary space weather station rocketed away from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday, speeding toward a remote operating post a million miles from Earth to help forecasters warn of intense solar storms.
SpaceX launched a batch of Starlink internet satellites from California on Tuesday after four earlier tries were scrubbed. Liftoff of the Starlink 7-11 mission occurred at 4:35 p.m. PST (7:35 p.m. EST, 0035 UTC).
