| T+0:00:00 |
Liftoff |
| The twin Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade (SRMU) boosters are ignited and the Titan 4B rocket launches from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. |
|
| T+0:00:06 |
Roll Program |
| Rocket beings a roll maneuver to the flight azimuth of 93 degrees for the travel downrange from launch site. |
|
| T+0:02:11 |
Stage 1 Ignition |
| The Titan 4B rocket's core vehicle stage 1 engine -- the Aerojet LR87-AJ-11 -- is ignited. The liquid-propellant powerplant burns Aerozine-50 fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. |
|
| T+0:02:26 |
SRMU Separation |
| Having consumed all their solid-propellant, the two Alliant Techsystems-built solid rocket boosters are jettisoned to fall into the Atlantic Ocean. |
|
| T+0:03:26 |
Jettison Payload Fairing |
| The 56-foot long payload fairing buit by Boeing that protected the DSP-21 satellite during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits. |
|
| T+0:05:21 |
Staging of Titan Core |
| The first stage engine shuts down and the second stage Aerojet LR91-AJ-11 engine is ignited. The spent first stage is jettisoned from the rest of the space-bound Titan 4B rocket one second after the second stage is started. |
|
| T+0:08:55 |
Stage 2 Shutdown |
| The liquid-fueled second stage engine completes its firing and the rocket enters a brief coast period before deployment of the upper stage and DSP payload. |
|
| T+0:09:05 |
Stage 2/IUS Separation |
| The Boeing-built Inertial Upper Stage is released from the Titan rocket's core vehicle, which has completed its role in the launch. The IUS and attached DSP satellite now begin a coast period through space before the first of two firings of the upper stage kick motor. |
|
| T+1:13:29 |
IUS SRM 1 Burn |
| The first stage of the solid-fueled IUS is ignited to begin the journey from low-Earth orbit to geostationary altitude for the DSP-21 satellite. |
|
| T+6:29:32 |
IUS Stage 1 Separation |
| Following a five-hour coast, the spent first stage of the IUS is jettisoned. |
|
| T+6:32:56 |
IUS SRM 2 Burn |
| The second stage of the solid-fueled IUS is ignited to complete the powered phase of the launch to place DSP-21 into orbit. |
|
| T+6:54:51 |
Spacecraft Separation |
| The Defense Support Program-21 early-warning satellite is released into space from the Inertial Upper Stage to complete the B-31 launch. |
