{"id":14946,"date":"2017-01-13T21:19:31","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T13:19:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/timeline-for-falcon-9-rockets-launch-of-10-iridium-satellites\/"},"modified":"2017-01-13T21:19:31","modified_gmt":"2017-01-13T13:19:31","slug":"timeline-for-falcon-9-rockets-launch-of-10-iridium-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/timeline-for-falcon-9-rockets-launch-of-10-iridium-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"Timeline for Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s launch of 10 Iridium satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s ascent to orbit with the first 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium\u2019s voice and data relay fleet.<\/p>\n

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 9:54:39 a.m. PST (12:54:39 p.m. EST; 1754:39 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.<\/p>\n

Data source: SpaceX<\/p>\n

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

\"After
After the rocket\u2019s nine Merlin 1D engines pass an automated health check, the Falcon 9 is released from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:01:09: Max-Q<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure. The first stage\u2019s nine Merlin 1D engines produce about 1.5 million pounds of thrust at sea level, ramping up to 1.7 million pounds of thrust in vacuum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:02:24: MECO<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The Falcon 9\u2019s nine Merlin 1D engines shut down.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:02:27: Stage 1 Separation<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The Falcon 9\u2019s first stage separates from the second stage moments after MECO.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:02:35: Stage 2 Ignition<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for an approximately 6-and-a-half-minute burn to inject the Iridium Next satellites into a parking orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:03:15: Fairing Jettison<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The 5.2-meter (17.1-foot) diameter payload fairing jettisons once the Falcon 9 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+0:07:49: Stage 1 Landing<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s first stage booster touches down on SpaceX\u2019s drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:09:09: SECO 1<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The Merlin 1D vacuum engine turns off after placing the Iridium satellites in a temporary parking orbit, beginning at 43-minute coast in space.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:52:31: Stage 2 Restart<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The Falcon 9\u2019s second stage engine ignites again for a 3-second burn to circularize its orbit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:52:34: SECO 2<\/b><\/p>\n

\"The
The Merlin 1D vacuum engine shuts down after reaching a target orbit about 388 miles (625 kilometers) high with an inclination of 86 degrees.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+0:59:16: Begin Iridium Deployments<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The 1,896-pound (860-kilogram) Iridium Next satellites begin deploying from their two-tier dispenser on the Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s second stage, separating at intervals of approximately every 90 seconds.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

T+1:14:16: End Iridium Deployments<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"
The last of the 10 Iridium Next satellites will separate from the rocket.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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

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

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket\u2019s ascent to orbit with the first 10 next-generation satellites for Iridium\u2019s voice and data relay fleet. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket will lift off Saturday at 9:54:39 a.m. PST (12:54:39 p.m. EST; 1754:39 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Data source: SpaceX T-0:00:00: Liftoff After […]<\/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":[1573,479,530,2193,3269,2899,311,1574],"class_list":["post-14946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-drone-ship","tag-falcon-9","tag-iridium","tag-iridium-next","tag-iridium-next-mission-1","tag-orbital-atk","tag-reusability","tag-space-launch-complex-4-east"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14946"}],"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=14946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}