{"id":12337,"date":"2020-07-20T00:04:24","date_gmt":"2020-07-19T16:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/h-2a-launch-timeline-with-the-emirates-mars-mission\/"},"modified":"2020-07-20T00:04:24","modified_gmt":"2020-07-19T16:04:24","slug":"h-2a-launch-timeline-with-the-emirates-mars-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/h-2a-launch-timeline-with-the-emirates-mars-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"H-2A launch timeline with the Emirates Mars Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

It will take approximately one hour for a Japanese H-2A rocket to propel the Hope Mars orbiter on a trajectory to escape Earth\u2019s gravitational bond, kicking off a seven-month journey to the Red Planet.<\/p>\n

The 174-foot-tall (53-meter) rocket is set for liftoff at 5:58:14 p.m. EDT (2158:14 GMT) Sunday from Launch Pad No. 1 at the Yoshinobu launch complex located at the Tanegashima Space Center. The spaceport is situated on Tanegashima Island on the southern end of the Japanese main islands.<\/p>\n

Liftoff is timed for 6:58 a.m. Japan Standard Time on Monday.<\/p>\n

The launch will mark the 42nd flight of an H-2A rocket since 2001, and Japan\u2019s third space launch of 2020. It will also be the first H-2A launch to carry a mission to Mars, and the fourth H-2A rocket mission with a probe heading to another world, following flights that deployed spacecraft destined for the moon, Venus, and an asteroid.<\/p>\n

The Emirates Mars Mission\u2019s Hope spacecraft will enter orbit around the Red Planet in February 2021 and gather data on the Martian climate and weather.<\/p>\n

The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the H-2A flight with the Emirates Mars Mission\u2019s Hope spacecraft.<\/p>\n

See our Mission Status Center for full coverage of the countdown and launch.<\/p>\n

Data source: MHI<\/strong><\/p>\n

T-0:00:00: Liftoff<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
With its LE-7A main engine and two solid rocket boosters firing to produce 1.4 million pounds of thrust, the 174-foot-tall H-2A rocket lifts off from the Yoshinobu launch complex on Tanegashima Island. A few moments later, the rocket will complete a pitch program to head east from the launch site.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:01:31: SRB-A Burnout<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The H-2A\u2019s two solid rocket boosters exhaust their propellant and burn out at an altitude of 131,000 feet (40,000 meters).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:01:46: SRB-A Jettison<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The two solid rocket boosters are jettisoned to fall into the Pacific Ocean. The LE-7A main engine continues firing with around 250,000 pounds of thrust.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:04:06: Payload Fairing Jettison<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
After traversing the dense lower atmosphere and reaching an altitude of 87 miles (141 kilometers), the rocket releases the 4-meter (13.1-foot) diameter payload fairing protecting the spacecraft during the early part of the flight.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:06:34: MECO<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
After consuming its liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, the LE-7A first stage main engine shuts down. The first stage and solid rocket boosters push the rocket to a velocity of more than 11,000 mph (about 5 kilometers per second).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:06:42: Stage Separation<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The H-2A rocket\u2019s first stage is separated now, having completed its job. The spent stage will fall into the Pacific Ocean downrange from Tanegashima.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:06:52: Second Stage Ignition 1<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
With the first stage jettisoned, the rocket\u2019s second stage takes over. The LE-5B hydrogen-fueled engine ignites at an altitude of more than 134 miles (217 kilometers) to accelerate the payloads to orbital velocity during its first of two burns. The LE-5B engine generates about 31,000 pounds of thrust in vacuum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:11:21: SECO 1<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The LE-5B second stage engine shuts down after reaching its specified orbital targets. This completes the first burn of the second stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:56:39: Second Stage Ignition 2<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
After coasting for more than 45 minutes and crossing over the Pacific Ocean and South America, the H-2A rocket\u2019s second stage LE-5B engine fires again to propel the UAE\u2019s Hope spacecraft on an escape trajectory toward Mars.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+1:00:33: SECO 2<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The LE-5B second stage engine shuts down after reaching an escape trajectory at a velocity of approximately 21,000 mph.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+1:01:34: Hope Separation<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The nearly 3,000-pound (1,350-kilogram) Hope spacecraft separates from the H-2A upper stage to begin a seven-month journey to Mars.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

It will take approximately one hour for a Japanese H-2A rocket to propel the Hope Mars orbiter on a trajectory to escape Earth\u2019s gravitational bond, kicking off a seven-month journey to the Red Planet. The 174-foot-tall (53-meter) rocket is set for liftoff at 5:58:14 p.m. EDT (2158:14 GMT) Sunday from Launch Pad No. 1 at […]<\/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":[1638,1518,1640,1662,2165,1641,377,1642],"class_list":["post-12337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-al-amal","tag-arizona-state-university","tag-emirates-mars-mission","tag-h-2a","tag-h-2a-f42","tag-hope","tag-japan","tag-lasp"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12337"}],"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=12337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12337\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}