SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the Es’hail 2 communications satellite into orbit around 32 minutes later.
The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is poised for launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:46 p.m. EST Thursday (2046 GMT) at the opening of a 103-minute launch window.
Perched atop the rocket is the Es’hail 2 communications satellite, a spacecraft manufactured in Japan by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. for Es’hailSat, Qatar’s national satellite communications company.
The satellite carries Ku-band and Ka-band transponders to beam broadband connections, television and other data relay services across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
After deployment from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket in an elliptical transfer orbit, Es’hail 2 will use its on-board hydrazine-fueled engine and electric thrusters to boost itself into a circular geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator at 26 degrees east longitude.
Es’hail 2, based on Melco’s DS2000 satellite bus, is designed for a 15-year mission.
The Falcon 9 rocket launching Es’hail 2 will fly in the upgraded “Block 5” configuration, with a new second stage and a first stage previously flown on the Telstar 19 VANTAGE launch in July.
The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the Falcon 9 flight with Es’hail 2.
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 pad 39A.
T+0:00:59: Mach 1
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Mach 1, the speed of sound, as the nine Merlin 1D engines provide more than 1.7 million pounds of thrust.
T+0:01:06: Max Q
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.
T+0:02:35: 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 moments after MECO.
T+0:02:46: First Ignition of Second Stage
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for a six-minute burn to put the rocket and Es’hail 2 into a preliminary parking orbit.
T+0:03:47: 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+0:06:22: Stage 1 Entry Burn
A subset of the first stage’s Merlin 1D engines ignite for an entry burn to slow down for landing on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. A final landing burn will occur just before touchdown.
T+0:08:07: SECO 1
The second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket shuts down after reaching a preliminary low-altitude orbit. The upper stage and Es’hail 2 begin a coast phase scheduled to last more than 18 minutes before the second stage Merlin vacuum engine reignites.
T+0:08:16: Stage 1 Landing
The Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage booster touches down on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
T+0:26:34: Second Ignition of Second Stage
The Falcon 9’s second stage Merlin engine restarts to propel the Es’hail 2 communications satellite into an elliptical transfer orbit.
T+0:27:29: SECO 2
The Merlin engine shuts down after a short burn to put the Es’hail 2 satellite in the proper elliptical orbit for deployment.
T+0:32:29: Es’hail 2 Separation
The Es’hail 2 satellite separates from the Falcon 9 rocket into an elliptical transfer orbit, on the way to a perch in geostationary orbit.
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