SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral early Friday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the JCSAT 14 communications satellite into orbit 32 minutes later.
The 229-foot-tall rocket is poised for launch from Complex 40 at 1:21 a.m. EDT (0521 GMT) Friday at the opening of a 120-minute launch window.
Perched atop the rocket is the JCSAT 14 communications satellite, an approximately 5-ton spacecraft made by Space Systems/Loral, ready to beam television programming, data services and Internet connectivity to homes, and businesses in the Asia-Pacific, Russia and parts of Australia.
The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the Falcon 9 flight with JCSAT 14. It does not include times for the experimental descent and landing attempt of the first stage booster, which SpaceX says is unlikely to succeed due to the high speed required for the launch to reach geostationary transfer orbit.
SpaceX’s landing platform is positioned about 400 miles (650 kilometers) east of Cape Canaveral for the first stage landing attempt, which is expected around 10 minutes after liftoff.
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 Complex 40.
T+0:01:13: Mach 1
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Mach 1, the speed of sound.
T+0:01:20: Max Q
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.
T+0:02:38: MECO
The Falcon 9’s nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.
T+0:02:41: Stage 1 Separation
The Falcon 9’s first stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.
T+0:02:49: First Ignition of Second Stage
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for an approximately 6-minute burn to put the rocket and JCSAT 14 into a preliminary parking orbit.
T+0:03:36: 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+0:08:53: SECO 1
The second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket shuts down after reaching a preliminary low-altitude orbit. The upper stage and JCSAT 14 begin a coast phase scheduled to last nearly 18 minutes before the second stage Merlin vacuum engine reignites.
T+0:26:27: Second Ignition of Second Stage
The Falcon 9’s second stage Merlin engine restarts to propel the JCSAT 14 communications satellite into a supersynchronous transfer orbit.
T+0:27:26: SECO 2
The Merlin engine shuts down after a short burn to put the JCSAT 14 satellite in the proper orbit for deployment.
T+0:32:02: JCSAT 14 Separation
The JCSAT 14 satellite separates from the Falcon 9 rocket in a geostationary transfer orbit. SpaceX and SKY Perfect JSAT have not released the exact orbit targeted on tonight’s launch.
The Starlink 12-9 mission was SpaceX’s 10th dedicated flight supporting the launch of its Starlink V2 Mini satellites. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 2:18 p.m. EST (1918 UTC).
SpaceX launched the first full-scale Starship and Super Heavy rocket from South Texas at 8:33 a.m. CDT (9:33 a.m. EDT; 1333 UTC Thursday). The nearly 40-story-tall rocket, the largest ever built, lifted off from the Starbase launch complex and flew downrange before veering out of control and exploding about four minutes into the flight.
A NASA official said Friday that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft could be ready to ferry astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station as soon as early March, pending the results from a major demonstration of the ship’s launch abort system this weekend, a pair of parachute drop tests, and space station crew schedules.
