It will take approximately one hour for a Japanese H-2A rocket to propel the Hope Mars orbiter on a trajectory to escape Earth’s gravitational bond, kicking off a seven-month journey to the Red Planet.
The 174-foot-tall (53-meter) rocket is set for liftoff at 5:58:14 p.m. EDT (2158:14 GMT) Sunday from Launch Pad No. 1 at the Yoshinobu launch complex located at the Tanegashima Space Center. The spaceport is situated on Tanegashima Island on the southern end of the Japanese main islands.
Liftoff is timed for 6:58 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Monday.
The launch will mark the 42nd flight of an H-2A rocket since 2001, and Japan’s third space launch of 2020. It will also be the first H-2A launch to carry a mission to Mars, and the fourth H-2A rocket mission with a probe heading to another world, following flights that deployed spacecraft destined for the moon, Venus, and an asteroid.
The Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope spacecraft will enter orbit around the Red Planet in February 2021 and gather data on the Martian climate and weather.
The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the H-2A flight with the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope spacecraft.
With its LE-7A main engine and two solid rocket boosters firing to produce 1.4 million pounds of thrust, the 174-foot-tall H-2A rocket lifts off from the Yoshinobu launch complex on Tanegashima Island. A few moments later, the rocket will complete a pitch program to head east from the launch site.
T+0:01:31: SRB-A Burnout
The H-2A’s two solid rocket boosters exhaust their propellant and burn out at an altitude of 131,000 feet (40,000 meters).
T+0:01:46: SRB-A Jettison
The two solid rocket boosters are jettisoned to fall into the Pacific Ocean. The LE-7A main engine continues firing with around 250,000 pounds of thrust.
T+0:04:06: Payload Fairing Jettison
After traversing the dense lower atmosphere and reaching an altitude of 87 miles (141 kilometers), the rocket releases the 4-meter (13.1-foot) diameter payload fairing protecting the spacecraft during the early part of the flight.
T+0:06:34: MECO
After consuming its liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, the LE-7A first stage main engine shuts down. The first stage and solid rocket boosters push the rocket to a velocity of more than 11,000 mph (about 5 kilometers per second).
T+0:06:42: Stage Separation
The H-2A rocket’s first stage is separated now, having completed its job. The spent stage will fall into the Pacific Ocean downrange from Tanegashima.
T+0:06:52: Second Stage Ignition 1
With the first stage jettisoned, the rocket’s second stage takes over. The LE-5B hydrogen-fueled engine ignites at an altitude of more than 134 miles (217 kilometers) to accelerate the payloads to orbital velocity during its first of two burns. The LE-5B engine generates about 31,000 pounds of thrust in vacuum.
T+0:11:21: SECO 1
The LE-5B second stage engine shuts down after reaching its specified orbital targets. This completes the first burn of the second stage.
T+0:56:39: Second Stage Ignition 2
After coasting for more than 45 minutes and crossing over the Pacific Ocean and South America, the H-2A rocket’s second stage LE-5B engine fires again to propel the UAE’s Hope spacecraft on an escape trajectory toward Mars.
T+1:00:33: SECO 2
The LE-5B second stage engine shuts down after reaching an escape trajectory at a velocity of approximately 21,000 mph.
T+1:01:34: Hope Separation
The nearly 3,000-pound (1,350-kilogram) Hope spacecraft separates from the H-2A upper stage to begin a seven-month journey to Mars.
Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket took off at 1:12 a.m. EDT (0512 GMT) Saturday carrying five payloads for the National Reconnaissance Office, NASA and the University of New South Wales at Canberra in Australia. The launch was the first for Rocket Lab since January due to delays related to the coronavirus pandemic.
SpaceX’s third Falcon Heavy rocket is set for liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the heavy-lift launcher will head on an easterly course over the Atlantic Ocean atop more than 5 million pounds of thrust.
SpaceX launched of a Falcon 9 rocket at 6:01 a.m. EDT (1001 GMT) Sunday with the company’s next 60 Starlink internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s reusable first stage, making its ninth flight to space, successfully landed on a drone ship positioned offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.
