{"id":11035,"date":"2023-03-08T20:52:25","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T12:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/launch-day-timeline-for-relativity-spaces-terran-1-rocket\/"},"modified":"2023-03-08T20:52:25","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T12:52:25","slug":"launch-day-timeline-for-relativity-spaces-terran-1-rocket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/launch-day-timeline-for-relativity-spaces-terran-1-rocket\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch day timeline for Relativity Space\u2019s Terran 1 rocket"},"content":{"rendered":"

EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: <\/strong>Updated March 22 with new launch date.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Relativity Space\u2019s Terran 1 rocket on Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: Relativity Space \/ Trevor Mahlmann<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Relativity Space\u2019s 10-story-tall Terran 1 rocket will encounter the most extreme aerodynamic forces of its eight-minute test flight around 80 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral. That\u2019s a key moment when the company\u2019s engineers hope to confirm the 3D-printed rocket can withstand the rigors of launch.<\/p>\n

The expendable Terran 1 rocket is set to blast off from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during a three-hour window opening at 10 p.m. EDT Wednesday, March 22 (0200 UTC Thursday, March 23). Forecasters expect good weather for the launch of Relativity Space\u2019s first rocket.<\/p>\n

Read our mission preview story for details on Relativity Space and the Terran 1 test flight.<\/p>\n

The 110-foot-tall (33.5-meter) rocket will be powered up for final pre-flight checkouts early Saturday.<\/p>\n

COUNTDOWN TIMELINE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 T-minus 7 hours: <\/strong>Vehicle power-up and checkouts<\/p>\n

\u2022 T-minus 4 hours: <\/strong>Personnel clear the launch pad; Methane and liquid oxygen loading begins<\/p>\n

\u2022 T-minus 60 minutes: <\/strong>Propellant loading complete<\/p>\n

\u2022 T-minus 16 minutes: <\/strong>Launch director performs pre-launch readiness poll<\/p>\n

\u2022 T-minus 10 minutes: <\/strong>Automated countdown sequence begins<\/p>\n

In the final 10 minutes of the countdown, the Terran 1 rocket\u2019s nine methane-fueled Aeon 1 engines will be thermally conditioned for flight through a procedure known as chilldown. The ignitors will be primed, and the Terran 1 will switch from its ground power supply to internal power. The strongback at the launch pad will be partially retracted in the final minutes before launch.<\/p>\n

\u2022 T-minus 1 minute, 10 seconds: <\/strong>Terminal countdown begins to run checks for launch commit criteria<\/p>\n

\u2022 T-minus 6 seconds: <\/strong>Ignition of Terran 1\u2019s nine Aeon 1 main engines; Automated health check begins<\/p>\n

\u2022 T-minus 0 seconds: <\/strong>Four hold-down devices release the Terran 1 rocket for liftoff<\/p>\n

\"\"
Credit: Relativity Space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LAUNCH TIMELINE<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 T+plus 0 seconds: <\/strong>Liftoff of the Terran 1; Nine Aeon 1 engines producing 207,000 pounds of thrust<\/p>\n

\u2022 T+plus 12 seconds: <\/strong>Engine thrust vector controllers begin pitching the Terran 1 rocket downrange<\/p>\n

\u2022 T+plus 1 minute, 20 seconds: <\/strong>Maximum aerodynamic pressure<\/p>\n

\u2022 T+plus 2 minutes, 40 seconds: <\/strong>First stage main engine cutoff<\/p>\n

\u2022 T+plus 2 minutes, 45 seconds: <\/strong>Terran 1\u2019s 80-foot-long first stage separates from the second stage<\/p>\n

\u2022 T+plus 2 minutes, 51 seconds: <\/strong>Ignition of Aeon Vac engine producing 25,400 pounds of thrust<\/p>\n

\u2022 T+plus 7 minutes, 43 seconds:<\/strong> Second stage engine cutoff<\/p>\n

\u2022 T+plus 8 minutes:<\/strong> Terran 1 in orbit<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Terran 1 rocket fires nine methane-fueled Aeon main engines during a hold-down test-firing at Cape Canaveral. Credit: Relativity Space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

ROCKET:<\/strong> Terran 1<\/p>\n

PAYLOAD: <\/strong>\u201cGood Luck, Have Fun\u201d test flight; No customer payload<\/p>\n

LAUNCH SITE: <\/strong>LC-16, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida<\/p>\n

LAUNCH DATE: <\/strong>March 22\/23, 2023<\/p>\n

LAUNCH WINDOW:<\/strong> 10:00 p.m. \u2013 1:00 a.m. EDT (0200-0500 GMT)<\/p>\n

WEATHER FORECAST:<\/strong> 95% chance of acceptable weather<\/p>\n

BOOSTER RECOVERY: <\/strong>None<\/p>\n

LAUNCH AZIMUTH: <\/strong>East<\/p>\n

TARGET ORBIT: <\/strong>124 miles by 130 miles (365 kilometers by 373 kilometers), 28.5 degrees inclination<\/p>\n

MISSION STATS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • 1st launch by Relativity Space<\/li>\n
  • 1st launch of Terran 1 rocket<\/li>\n
  • 151st launch from Launch Complex 16<\/li>\n
  • 13th orbital launch attempt based out of Cape Canaveral in 2023<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

    Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    EDITOR\u2019S NOTE: Updated March 22 with new launch date. Relativity Space\u2019s Terran 1 rocket on Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: Relativity Space \/ Trevor Mahlmann Relativity Space\u2019s 10-story-tall Terran 1 rocket will encounter the most extreme aerodynamic forces of its eight-minute test flight around 80 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11035\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}