T-0:00:02.7 |
Engine Start |
The Russian-designed RD-180 main engine is ignited and undergoes checkout prior to launch. |
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T+0:00:01.1 |
Liftoff |
The Atlas 5 vehicle, designated AV-013, lifts off and begins a vertical rise away from Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. |
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T+0:04:04.4 |
Main Engine Cutoff |
The RD-180 main engine completes its firing after consuming the kerosene and liquid oxygen fuel supply in the Atlas first stage. |
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T+0:04:10.4 |
Stage Separation |
The Common Core Booster first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket separates from the Centaur upper stage. Over the next few seconds, the Centaur engine liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen systems are readied for ignition. |
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T+0:04:20.4 |
Centaur Ignition 1 |
The Centaur RL10 engine ignites for the longest of the night's three upper stage firings. This burn will inject the Centaur stage and spacecraft into the mission's initial Earth orbit. |
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T+0:04:28.4 |
Nose Cone Jettison |
The payload fairing that protected the spacecraft during launch is separated once heating levels drop to predetermined limits. |
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T+0:14:23.2 |
Centaur Cutoff 1 |
The Centaur engine shuts down after arriving in the planned 306-mile circular orbit inclined 46 degrees to the equator. |
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T+0:18:02.2 |
Orbital Express Release |
The Orbital Express in-space refueling demonstration mission payload consisting of the combined ASTRO and NextSat spacecraft separates from atop the rocket. |
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T+0:22:17.2 |
MidSTAR 1 Release |
The U.S. Naval Academy's Midshipman Space Technology Applications Research Satellite (MidSTAR 1) is separated from the payload adapter ring on the rocket. |
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T+0:33:07.0 |
Centaur Ignition 2 |
The Centaur re-ignites for a two-step process to reach an entirely different orbit for deploying the other three satellite payloads. |
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T+0:34:29.2 |
Centaur Cutoff 2 |
At the conclusion of its second firing, the Centaur will have entered a so-called "fast transfer orbit" sequence to travel from the initial satellite deployment orbit to the orbit for release of the second batch of payloads. The intermediate orbit will have a low point of 247 miles, a high point of 2,135 miles and inclination of 44 degrees. |
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T+0:46:27.1 |
Centaur Ignition 3 |
After briefly coasting in the highly elliptical fast transfer orbit, Centaur ignites again to reach the desired orbit for release of the three remaining satellites. |
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T+0:48:19.1 |
Centaur Cutoff 3 |
The upper stage rocket motor completes its third burn -- the most ever for an Atlas 5 mission -- to enter a circular orbit 348 miles high with an inclination of 35.4 degrees. |
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T+0:56:07.1 |
STPSat 1 Release |
The Space Test Program's STPSat 1 spacecraft is deployed from the payload adapter ring on the rocket. |
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T+1:01:40.1 |
CFESat Release |
The Los Alamos National Laboratory's CFESat is deployed from the payload adapter ring on the rocket. |
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T+1:05:38.1 |
FalconSat 3 Release |
The U.S. Air Force Academy's FalconSat 3 is deployed from the payload adapter ring on the rocket, completing this Atlas 5 rocket launch. |