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Flight 181: Ariane 5/ATV Launch Timeline
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: March 5, 2008;
Updated March 7 with upper stage deorbiting time
NOTE: GMT is +5 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
| H0 |
Main Engine Ignition |
| 0403:04 GMT - The Ariane 5 rocket's first stage Vulcain 2 main engine ignites and undergoes a thorough health check on the launch pad. |
|
| H0+00:07 |
Launch |
| 0403:11 GMT - Producing about 2.6 million pounds of thrust, the Ariane 5 rocket's two solid rocket boosters ignite to lift the launcher into the sky. |
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| H0+00:13 |
Start Pitch Maneuver |
| 0403:17 GMT - The Ariane 5 rocket begins to pitch over after rising vertically from the ELA-3 launch pad. |
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| H0+00:17 |
Start Roll Maneuver |
| 0403:21 GMT - The Ariane 5 rocket starts its roll maneuver to head northeast away from the Guiana Space Center. |
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| H0+02:19 |
Booster Separation |
| 0405:23 GMT - The solid rocket boosters exhaust their propellant and are jettisoned from the Ariane 5's first stage at an altitude of about 41 miles. |
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| H0+03:29 |
Jettison Payload Fairing |
| 0406:33 GMT - The two halves of the Ariane 5's payload fairing are jettisoned once the rocket leaves the thick lower atmosphere.
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| H0+08:55 |
Main Stage Shutdown |
| 0411:59 GMT - The cryogenic first stage's Vulcain 2 main engine shuts down. |
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| H0+09:01 |
Stage Separation |
| 0412:05 GMT - Explosive bolts fire to separate the Ariane 5's first and second stages. |
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| H0+09:08 |
Upper Stage Ignition 1 |
| 0412:12 GMT - The upper stage's Aestus engine, burning hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide storable propellants, ignites to continue the push toward orbit. |
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| H0+17:13 |
Upper Stage Shutdown 1 |
| 0420:17 GMT - The upper stage's Aestus engine shuts down after reaching a preliminary parking orbit stretching from about 85 miles to 162 miles in altitude. |
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| H0+62:10 |
Upper Stage Ignition 2 |
| 0505:14 GMT - Flying over southeast coast of Australia, the Aestus engine ignites for a second time to deliver the Automated Transfer Vehicle to its injection orbit. |
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| H0+62:40 |
Upper Stage Shutdown 2 |
| 0505:44 GMT - The powered portion of the Ariane 5's mission ends when the Aestus engine cuts off, arriving in a 162-mile-high circular orbit with an inclination of 51.6 degrees. |
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| H0+66:39 |
ATV Separation |
| 0509:43 GMT - The Automated Transfer Vehicle is deployed from the Ariane 5's upper stage. |
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| H0+144:27 |
Upper Stage Deorbiting |
| 0627:31 GMT - The Ariane 5 upper stage fires for a third time to guide the spent rocket body toward a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean. The engine burn should last about 16 seconds. |
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Data Source: Arianespace and EADS
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