Spaceflight Now | Atlas Launch Report

AC-136 mission events

SPACEFIGHT NOW
Posted: Nov. 22, 1999

T-00:02.4	Engine start
	Atlas booster and sustainer engines are ignited and undergo checkout prior to liftoff.

T+00:00	Launch
	Rocket lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from launch pad 36B.

T+00:08	Roll Program
	Atlas begins a seven-second roll maneuver to align itself with proper flight azimuth. Following the roll, the vehicle begins open-loop pitch and yaw steering under control of the Centaur inertial guidance system.

T+02:45	Booster Engine Cutoff
	BECO occurs when axial acceleration of 5.5 g is obtained. Sustainer engine provides the continued boost toward orbit for the Atlas rocket.

T+02:48	Jettison Booster Package
	The bottom engine structure is separated from the Atlas vehicle.

T+03:41	Jettison Payload Fairing
	The 14-foot diameter aluminum payload fairing that protected the UHF F10 satellite during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits.

T+04:34	Sustainer Engine Cutoff
	SECO is commanded once minimum residual propellant is sensed inside the Atlas booster stage.

T+04:36	Atlas/Centaur Separation
	Two seconds after the Atlas sustainer engine shuts down, the Atlas booster stage separates from the Centaur upper stage.

T+04:53	Centaur 1st Main Engine Start
	MES 1, the longer of the two Centaur firings begins to inject the upper stage and UHF F10 spacecraft into a low-altitude parking orbit around Earth.

T+09:54	Centaur Main Engine Cutoff
	When MECO 1 occurs the Centaur engines are shutdown and the vehicle begins a coast period over the mid-Atlantic before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn.

T+15:44	Reorientation to MES2 Attitude
	The Centaur stage is maneuvered to the proper attitude for ignition of the two upper stage engines.

T+22:24	Centaur 2nd Main Engine Start
	MES 2 occurs over the Atlantic Ocean near Ascension Island as the rocket passes over the equator.

T+23:36	Centaur Main Engine Cutoff
	At the point of MECO 2, the Centaur/UHF F10 vehicle should be in the required transfer orbit.

T+23:38	Alignment to Separation Attitude
	The Centaur stage maneuvers to achieve the proper position for spacecraft deployment.

T+25:16	Start Spinup
	The Centaur's reaction control system thrusters initiate the required spinup of the UHF F10 satellite to 5 rpm.

T+27:03	Spacecraft Separation
	The UHF F10 communications satellite is released into space from the Centaur upper stage to complete the launch.

Image and data source: International Launch Services and Lockheed Martin Astronautics.

Flight data file
Vehicle: Atlas 2A AC-136
Payload: UHF F/O F-10
Launch date: Nov. 23, 1999
Launch window: 0406-0606 GMT (2306 EST on Nov. 22)
Launch site: Pad 36B, Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida
Liftoff weight: 189,000 kg (417,770 lbs)

Video vault

Watch the sequence of events as the Atlas 2A rocket carries the U.S. Navy's UHF F/O F10 satellite into orbit.
PLAY (950k QuickTime file)
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Explore the Net
International Launch Services - Lockheed Martin-led consortium which globally markets the U.S. Atlas and Russian Proton rockets.

Lockheed Martin Astronautics - U.S. company which builds and launches the Atlas family of rockets.

Hughes Space and Communications - A leading satellite manufacturer in the U.S.; built UHF F10.

Space & Naval Warfare Systems Command - U.S. government office responsible for UHF satellite program.

45th Space Wing - Division of the U.S. Air Force Space Command that runs the Eastern Range at Cape Canaveral.

Full coverage
- The UHF Follow-On Satellite
- Launch Complex 36
- AC-136 launch windows

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