| T-00:02.4 |
Engine start |
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Atlas booster and sustainer engines are ignited and undergo checkout prior to liftoff. The two ground-start boosters will light a half-second before launch. |
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| T+00:00 |
Launch |
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Rocket lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from launch pad 36B at Cape Canaveral Air Station. |
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| T+00:08 |
Roll Program |
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During vertical ascent, Atlas begins a seven-second roll maneuver to align itself with proper flight azimuth. Following the roll, the Centaur inertial guidance system controls pitch and yaw programs. |
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| T+00:59.1 |
Air-lit SRB Ignition |
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The remaining two solid rocket boosters strapped to the Atlas are ignited once onboard computer software determines the two ground-start SRBs have burned out, about 2 1/2 seconds earlier. |
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| T+01:06.8 |
Jettison Ground-Lit SRBs |
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The two spent solid rocket boosters that were ignited on the ground are jettisoned to fall into the Atlantic Ocean. |
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| T+01:57.1 |
Jettison Air-Lit SRBs |
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Computer software will determine the air-start solid rocket boosters have burned all their propellant and should be jettisoned from the Atlas vehicle. The two SRBs will fall into the Atlantic Ocean. |
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| T+02:43.9 |
Booster Engine Cutoff |
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BECO occurs when axial acceleration of 5.0 g is obtained. Sustainer engine provides the continued boost toward orbit for the Atlas rocket. |
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| T+02:47.0 |
Jettison Booster Package |
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The bottom engine structure with the two booster engines is separated from the Atlas vehicle. |
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| T+03:21.4 |
Jettison Payload Fairing |
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The 14-foot diameter aluminum payload fairing that protected the Hispasat 1C satellite during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits. |
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| T+05:00.7 |
Sustainer Engine Cutoff |
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SECO is commanded once minimum residual propellant is sensed inside the Atlas booster stage. |
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| T+05:02.7 |
Atlas/Centaur Separation |
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Two seconds after the Atlas sustainer engine shuts down, the Atlas booster stage separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next few seconds, the Centaur liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied and engine nozzles extended. |
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| T+05:19.2 |
Centaur 1st Main Engine Start |
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MES 1, the longer of the two Centaur firings begins to inject the upper stage and Hispasat 1C spacecraft into a low-altitude parking orbit around Earth. Guidance steering in the burn will result in an inclination of 27.3 degrees. |
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| T+09:44.3 |
Centaur Main Engine Cutoff |
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MECO 1 occurs the Centaur engines are shutdown, arriving in a planned 81.6 x 201.5 nautical mile orbit. The vehicle begins a coast period over the mid-Atlantic before arriving at the required location in space for the second burn. |
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| T+24:30.5 |
Centaur 2nd Main Engine Start |
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MES 2 occurs over the Atlantic Ocean between the African Ivory Coast and Ascension Island before the rocket passes over the equator. The burn accelerates the vehicle and satellite into the required supersynchronous transfer orbit. |
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| T+26:18.2 |
Centaur Main Engine Cutoff |
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At the point of MECO 2, the Centaur/Hispasat 1C vehicle should be in the required transfer orbit. About four seconds later, the stage begins aligning to the satellite separation attitude. |
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| T+25:17.4 |
Start Spinup |
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The Centaur's reaction control system thrusters initiate the required spinup of the Hispasat 1C satellite to 1.5 rpm. |
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| T+28:56.2 |
Spacecraft Separation |
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The Spanish Hispasat 1C communications satellite is released into orbit from the Centaur upper stage to complete the AC-158 launch. |
An in-depth look at the Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS rocket and Centaur upper stage that will launch Hispasat 1C.