{"id":13287,"date":"2019-03-15T18:01:43","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T10:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/delta-4-rockets-launch-timeline-with-wgs-10\/"},"modified":"2019-03-15T18:01:43","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T10:01:43","slug":"delta-4-rockets-launch-timeline-with-wgs-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/delta-4-rockets-launch-timeline-with-wgs-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta 4 rocket\u2019s launch timeline with WGS 10"},"content":{"rendered":"
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will deliver the U.S. Air Force\u2019s tenth Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite to a supersynchronous transfer orbit around 37 minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n
Liftoff is scheduled during a launch window opening at 6:56 p.m. EDT (2256 GMT) Friday. The window extends to 9:05 p.m. EDT (0105 GMT).<\/p>\n
See our Mission Status Center for live updates on the countdown and flight.<\/p>\n
T+00:00:00 \u2014 Liftoff<\/strong><\/p>\nThe United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket takes off powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A main engine and four solid rocket boosters built by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. The hydrogen-burning main engine ignites at T-minus 5 seconds, following by ignition of the four boosters at T-minus 0, the release of four hold-down bolts and retraction of the launch pad\u2019s three swing arms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:00:47.2 \u2014 Max-Q<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nHeading east from Cape Canaveral with a launch azimuth of 93.46 degrees, the Delta 4 experiences the most extreme aerodynamic pressures at this point in the mission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:01:40.0 \u2014 Solid Rocket Motor Separation<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nThe Delta 4\u2019s four GEM-60 solid rocket boosters are jettisoned in two pairs around seven seconds after consuming all their propellant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:03:19.0 \u2014 Payload Fairing Jettison<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nThe Delta 4\u2019s composite bisector fairing jettisons from the rocket once the launcher reaches a safe altitude above the dense lower layers of Earth\u2019s atmosphere.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:03:55.8 \u2014 Booster Engine Cutoff<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nThe Delta 4\u2019s RS-68A main engine shuts down after burning its supply of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:04:02.3 \u2014 Stage Separation<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nThe Delta 4\u2019s Common Booster Core separates from the rocket\u2019s second stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:04:15.3 \u2014 First Second Stage Ignition<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nThe Delta 4\u2019s second stage Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10B-2 engine ignites and powers up to 24,750 pounds of thrust in the first of its two firings to place the WGS 10 satellite into a supersynchronous transfer orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:19:29.6 \u2014 First Second Stage Engine Shutdown<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nThe second stage\u2019s RL10B-2 engine shuts down after placing the WGS 10 satellite in a preliminary parking orbit, beginning a 10-minute coast before the engine reignites.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:29:29.6 \u2014 Second Stage Engine Restart<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nThe RL10B-2 second stage engine ignites again to send WGS 10 into a higher, elliptical supersynchronous transfer orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:32:50.0 \u2014 Second Stage Engine Shutdown<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nAfter a burn lasting nearly three-and-a-half minutes, the RL10B-2 second stage engine shuts down to end its second firing on the WGS 10 mission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
T+00:36:50.0 \u2014 WGS 10 Separation<\/strong><\/left><\/p>\nThe Boeing-built WGS 10 communications satellite separates from the Delta 4 rocket\u2019s second stage in a targeted orbit ranging between 269 miles (433 kilometers) and 27,536 miles (44,315 kilometers) in altitude, with an inclination of 27 degrees to the equator. WGS 10 will use its on-board propulsion system, using a liquid-fueled main engine and plasma thrusters, to maneuver into a circular geostationary orbit around four months after launch, where it will begin final checkouts and enter service for the U.S. Air Force. The Delta 4\u2019s RL10B-2 engine will reignite at T+plus 1 hour, 12 minutes, for a 10-second firing to aim for a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean around 12 hours after liftoff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket will deliver the U.S. Air Force\u2019s tenth Wideband Global SATCOM communications satellite to a supersynchronous transfer orbit around 37 minutes after lifting off from Cape Canaveral. Liftoff is scheduled during a launch window opening at 6:56 p.m. EDT (2256 GMT) Friday. The window extends to 9:05 p.m. EDT […]<\/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":[864,670,2419,1962,1878,2699,1688,25],"class_list":["post-13287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-aerojet-rocketdyne","tag-boeing","tag-boeing-702","tag-complex-37","tag-delta","tag-delta-383","tag-delta-4","tag-launch"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13287"}],"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=13287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13287\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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