Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent into space from Cape Canaveral with the ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B communications satellites.
Launch is set for 10:29 a.m. EDT (1429 GMT) on June 15 from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. The satellites will be deployed in a supersynchronous transfer orbit, but SpaceX and the customers have not disclosed the exact target orbit parameters.
The payloads aboard the 26th Falcon 9 launch were manufactured by Boeing in El Segundo, California, and will steer into their operational geostationary orbits with plasma thrusters, and not a conventional liquid-fueled rocket engine.
The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the Falcon 9 flight with ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B. It does not include times for the descent and landing attempt of the first stage booster, a secondary objective.
SpaceX’s landing platform is positioned about 420 miles (680 kilometers) east of Cape Canaveral for the first stage landing attempt, which is expected around 9 minutes after liftoff. Exact times for the recovery maneuvers were not released by SpaceX.
Data source: SpaceX
T-0:00:00: Liftoff
After the rocket’s nine Merlin engines pass an automated health check, four 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+0:01:17: Max Q
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.
T+0:02:36: MECO
The Falcon 9’s nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.
T+0:02:39: Stage 1 Separation
The Falcon 9’s first stage separates from the second stage three seconds after MECO. The spent stage will descend back to Earth for an attempted landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
T+0:02:47: Stage 2 Ignition
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for a 6-minute, 35-second burn to put the rocket and the ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B satellites into a preliminary parking orbit.
T+0:03:34: 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+0:09:22: SECO 1
The second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket shuts down after reaching a preliminary low-altitude orbit. The upper stage and Thaicom 8 begin a coast phase scheduled to last more than 18 minutes before the second stage Merlin vacuum engine reignites.
T+0:25:54: Second Ignition of Second Stage
The Falcon 9’s second stage Merlin engine restarts to propel the ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B communications satellites into a supersynchronous transfer orbit.
T+0:26:58: SECO 2
The Merlin engine shuts down after a short burn to put the ABS 2A and Eutelsat 117 West B satellites in the proper orbit for deployment.
T+0:30:29: Eutelsat 117 West B Separation
The Eutelsat 117 West B spacecraft, with a launch mass of approximately 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds), deploys from the upper position of the dual-payload stack on the Falcon 9 rocket.
T+0:35:29: ABS 2A Separation
The ABS 2A satellite, with a launch mass of about 2,200 kilograms (4,850 pounds), deploys from the lower position of the dual-payload stack on the Falcon 9 rocket.
Two software errors detected after launch of a Boeing Starliner crew ship during an unpiloted test flight last December, one of which prevented a planned docking with the International Space Station, could have led to catastrophic failures had they not been caught and corrected in time, NASA said Friday.
The NASA manager overseeing development of Boeing and SpaceX’s commercial crew ferry ships says the space agency has approved SpaceX’s proposal to strap in astronauts atop Falcon 9 rockets, then fuel the launchers in the final hour of the countdown as the company does for its uncrewed missions.
A thick marine layer blanketing Vandenberg Air Force Base in California restricted views of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifting off early Wednesday, but cameras fixed to the launcher provided spectacular imagery of the predawn departure with 10 Iridium satellites on-board.
