{"id":13126,"date":"2019-06-25T00:11:54","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T16:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/launch-timeline-for-falcon-heavys-first-launch-for-the-u-s-air-force\/"},"modified":"2019-06-25T00:11:54","modified_gmt":"2019-06-24T16:11:54","slug":"launch-timeline-for-falcon-heavys-first-launch-for-the-u-s-air-force","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/launch-timeline-for-falcon-heavys-first-launch-for-the-u-s-air-force\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch timeline for Falcon Heavy\u2019s first launch for the U.S. Air Force"},"content":{"rendered":"

SpaceX\u2019s third Falcon Heavy rocket is set for liftoff from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the heavy-lift launcher will head on an easterly course over the Atlantic Ocean atop more than 5 million pounds of thrust.<\/p>\n

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is poised for launch from pad 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a four launch window that opens at 11:30 p.m. EDT Monday (0230 GMT Tuesday) and closes at 3:30 a.m. EDT (0730 GMT).<\/p>\n

There are two dozen satellites mounted on top of the rocket awaiting launch into three distinct orbits, which are described in the timeline below.<\/p>\n

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

\"\"
Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The graphic above illustrates the paths of the Falcon Heavy\u2019s two side boosters, center core stage, and second stage during the rocket\u2019s launch and landing operations. Four different components of the Falcon Heavy will follow trajectories toward different landing zones, or toward Earth orbit.<\/p>\n

The timeline below outlines the launch sequence for the Falcon Heavy\u2019s third mission, and the first Falcon Heavy flight for the U.S. Air Force.<\/p>\n

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

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

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s engine controllers will command nine Merlin 1D engines on each of the rocket\u2019s three first stage boosters to ignite at T-minus 2 seconds. Hold-down clamps will open to release the Falcon Heavy from launch pad 39A as the countdown clock reaches zero, once the vehicle passes an automated health check.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:00:42: Max Q<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:02:27: BECO<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Merlin 1D engines on the two side boosters shut down a few seconds before booster separation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:02:31: Booster Separation<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The two 15-story-tall side boosters separate from the Falcon Heavy rocket to begin their descent back to Cape Canaveral.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:02:49: Side Cores Begin Boostback Burn<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
After flipping around to fly tail-first, the Falcon Heavy\u2019s two side boosters each reignite three of their engines to begin their return to Cape Canaveral for landing.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:03:27: MECO<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s nine core stage Merlin 1D engines shut down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:03:31: Stage Separation<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s center core stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:03:38: First Ignition of Second Stage<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for a five-minute burn to put the rocket and its payload into a preliminary parking orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:04:03: Fairing Jettison<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The 5.2-meter (17.1-foot) diameter payload fairing jettisons once the Falcon Heavy 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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:07:13: Side Boosters Begin Entry Burn<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s two side boosters reignite a subset of their Merlin engines for an entry burn prior to touchdown.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:08:38: SECO 1<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The second stage of the Falcon Heavy rocket shuts down after reaching the first of three target orbits on the STP-2 mission, with a perigee, or low point, of 186 miles (300 kilometers) an apogee, or high point, of 534 miles (860 kilometers), and an inclination of 28.5 degrees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:08:41: Side Booster Landings<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s two side boosters touch down at Landing Zone 1 and Landing Zone 2 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:08:53: Center Core Begins Entry Burn<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s center core stage begins its entry burn targeting SpaceX\u2019s drone ship \u201cOf Course I Still Love You\u201d in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:11:21: Center Core Landing<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s central core stage touches down on \u201cOf Course I Still Love You,\u201d SpaceX\u2019s drone ship positioned nearly 770 miles (1,240 kilometers) east of Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:12:55: Spacecraft Deployments Begin<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The first sequence of satellite separations begins. The Oculus-ASR microsatellite, along with 12 CubeSats, will be deployed in the first orbit on the STP-2 mission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+1:12:39: Second Stage Engine Restart<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s second stage Merlin engine restarts to change orbits for the next phase of the mission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+1:13:00: SECO 2<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Merlin engine shuts down after a short burn to reach a circular 447-mile-high (820-kilometer) orbit at an inclination of 24 degrees. In this orbit, the mission\u2019s six COSMIC-2 weather satellites, NASA\u2019s Green Propellant Infusion Mission, General Atomics\u2019 Orbital Test Bed satellite, the NPSAT 1 microsatellite from the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Prox-1 microsatellite from Georgia Tech \u2014 which contains the LightSail 2 CubeSat \u2014 will separate from the Falcon Heavy\u2019s upper stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+2:07:35: Second Stage Engine Restart<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s Merlin upper stage engine reignites to begin climbing into a higher orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+2:08:04: SECO 3<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s Merlin upper stage engine shuts down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+3:27:27: Second Stage Engine Restart<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon Heavy\u2019s Merlin upper stage engine reignites to reach the targeted orbit for the mission\u2019s final payload.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+3:28:03: SECO 4<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Merlin-Vacuum engine shuts down after reaching an elliptical orbit with a perigee, or low point, of 3,728 miles (6,000 kilometers), an apogee, or high point, of 7,456 miles (12,000 kilometers), and an inclination of 42 degrees to the equator.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+3:34:09: DSX Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Air Force Research Laboratory\u2019s Demonstration and Science Experiments, or DSX, spacecraft separates from the Falcon Heavy\u2019s second stage. The rocket will complete a \u201cpassivation\u201d procedure in the next few hours, in which it will vent leftover propellant overboard. The venting will push the upper stage into a slightly different orbit from DSX.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

SpaceX\u2019s third Falcon Heavy rocket is set for liftoff from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the heavy-lift launcher will head on an easterly course over the Atlantic Ocean atop more than 5 million pounds of thrust. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket is poised for launch from pad 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in […]<\/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":[1665,291,2603,1608,2604,678,2605,2123],"class_list":["post-13126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-ball-aerospace","tag-commercial-space","tag-cosmic-2","tag-cubesats","tag-deep-space-atomic-clock","tag-falcon-heavy","tag-general-atomics","tag-green-propellant-infusion-mission"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13126"}],"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=13126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}