{"id":13651,"date":"2018-08-11T19:36:19","date_gmt":"2018-08-11T11:36:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/delta-4-heavy-launch-timeline-with-parker-solar-probe\/"},"modified":"2018-08-11T19:36:19","modified_gmt":"2018-08-11T11:36:19","slug":"delta-4-heavy-launch-timeline-with-parker-solar-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/delta-4-heavy-launch-timeline-with-parker-solar-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta 4-Heavy launch timeline with Parker Solar Probe"},"content":{"rendered":"

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, crowned by a solid-fueled upper stage kick motor, will send NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe on a speedy voyage through the inner solar system following liftoff from Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n

The 233-foot-tall (71-meter) launcher is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37B launch pad powered by three Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A main engines.<\/p>\n

The Delta 4-Heavy has flown nine times before, and is made up of three modified Delta 4 first stage cores bolted together. The all-cryogenic launcher burns a mixture of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.<\/p>\n

The $1.5 billion Parker Solar Probe mission will become the first spacecraft to travel inside the sun\u2019s corona, a scorching region of plasma extending a few million miles away from our star\u2019s surface. The mission\u2019s objectives include helping scientists unravel how the solar wind is heated and accelerated into the solar system, impacting the planets, including our own.<\/p>\n

The timeline below is a rough approximation of the timing of the major launch events for the Delta 4-Heavy launch with Parker Solar Probe. The exact timing changes day-to-day based on the launch date in the mission\u2019s interplanetary window, which extends to Aug. 23.<\/p>\n

Date source: ULA<\/strong><\/p>\n

T+00:00:00 \u2014 Liftoff<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket takes off powered by three Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68A main engines. The hydrogen-burning powerplants ignite in a staggered fashion, with the starboard Common Booster Core set to ignite at T-minus 7 seconds, followed by the port and center boosters at T-minus 5 seconds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:03:57.6 \u2014 Port and Starboard Booster Jettison<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
After consuming their liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellant mixture, the Delta 4-Heavy\u2019s port and starboard Common Booster Cores shut down their RS-68A main engines and jettison from the center core, which throttles up from a partial thrust setting to a full thrust mode after booster separation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:05:35.9 \u2014 Booster Engine Cutoff<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Delta 4\u2019s center RS-68A main engine shuts down after burning its supply of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:05:42.4 \u2014 First Stage Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Delta 4\u2019s Common Booster Core separates from the rocket\u2019s second stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:05:55.4 \u2014 First Main Engine Start<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The 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 on the Parker Solar Probe mission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:06:05.4 \u2014 Payload Fairing Jettison<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The 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+00:10:37.1 \u2014 First Main Engine Cutoff<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The second stage\u2019s RL10B-2 engine shuts down after placing Parker Solar Probe in a preliminary parking orbit, beginning a 12-minute coast before the engine reignites.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:22:25.4 \u2014 Second Main Engine Start<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The RL10B-2 second stage engine ignites again to send Parker Solar Probe on a trajectory to escape Earth\u2019s gravitational bond.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:36:38.9 \u2014 Second Main Engine Cutoff<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
After burn lasting more than 14 minutes, the RL10B-2 second stage engine shuts down to end its second firing on the Parker Solar Probe mission.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:37:09.0 \u2014 Second Stage Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Star 48BV upper stage kick motor, developed by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, deploys from the Delta 4\u2019s second stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:37:29.0 \u2014 Third Stage Ignition<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The solid-fueled Star 48BV motor, featuring control thrusters and a vectorable nozzle, ignites for an 89-second burn to send Parker Solar Probe away from Earth at higher speed. Ignition occurs once the Star 48BV kick stage reaches a distance of at least 50 feet from the Delta 4\u2019s second stage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:38:58.0 \u2014 Third Stage Burnout<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Star 48BV upper stage kick motor burns out after consuming all its pre-packed solid propellant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+00:43:18.0 \u2014 Parker Solar Probe Separation<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
NASA\u2019s 1,424-pound (646-kilogram) Parker Solar Probe spacecraft separates from the Star 48BV kick stage, heading for a flyby of Venus in October to begin spiraling toward the sun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, crowned by a solid-fueled upper stage kick motor, will send NASA\u2019s Parker Solar Probe on a speedy voyage through the inner solar system following liftoff from Cape Canaveral. The 233-foot-tall (71-meter) launcher is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 37B launch pad powered by three Aerojet Rocketdyne […]<\/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":[2057,1878,2891,1688,1408,1860,1861,25],"class_list":["post-13651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-complex-37b","tag-delta","tag-delta-380","tag-delta-4","tag-delta-4-heavy","tag-heliophysics","tag-jhuapl","tag-launch"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13651"}],"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=13651"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13651\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}