T-00:00 |
Liftoff |
After the rocket's nine Merlin 1D engines pass an automated health check, the Falcon 9 is released from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. |
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T+01:10 |
Mach 1 |
The Falcon 9 rocket passes the speed of sound. The first stage's nine Merlin 1D engines produce 1.3 million pounds of thrust at sea level, ramping up to 1.5 million pounds of thrust in vacuum. |
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T+01:18 |
Max Q |
The Falcon 9 rocket reaches Max Q, the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure. |
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T+02:38 |
MECO |
Moments after two of the Falcon 9's first stage engines shut down, the remaining seven Merlin 1D engines cut off. |
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T+02:41 |
Stage 1 Separation |
The Falcon 9's first stage separates from the second stage three seconds after MECO. |
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T+02:49 |
Stage 2 Ignition |
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine ignites for an approximately 6-minute, 46-second burn to inject the Orbcomm OG2 satellites into orbit. The 5.2-meter (17.1-foot) diameter payload fairing jettisons early in the second stage burn 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. |
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T+09:35 |
SECO |
The second stage Merlin 1D vacuum engine shuts down after reaching orbit an orbit with a high point of 750 kilometers (466 miles), a low point of 615 kilometers (382 miles), and an inclination of 47 degrees. |
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T+14:30 |
Begin Spacecraft Separation |
The six 170-kilogram (375-pound) Orbcomm OG2 satellites begin a programmed deployment sequence from a Moog Inc. payload adapter ring mounted on the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket. A spacecraft separates from the ring approximately every three minutes until the sequence ends at about T+plus 35 minutes. |
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