SpaceX Launched The Intelsat G-37 Satellites
SpaceX launched the Intelsat G-37 communications satellite from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The rocket landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean several minutes after separation.
Credit: SpaceX
The rocket landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean several minutes after separation.
Credit: SpaceX
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TechTranscript
00:00 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ignition, and liftoff of Falcon 9. Go Falcon, go Galaxy 37.
00:17 People switching down range.
00:27 [engine noise]
00:41 T-plus 30 seconds into flight, Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
00:48 During ascent, we'll tilt the engines in a technical term called "gimbling," and that will turn the rocket horizontally in what we call a gravity turn.
00:55 Nominal power and telemetry.
00:57 Now we're still going up, but we're also heading horizontally away from the launch pad.
01:01 The rocket typically needs to go about 17,500 miles per hour horizontally in order to avoid being pulled back down to Earth and reach orbit
01:08 Falcon 9 is supersonic.
01:10 just like that cannonball I mentioned earlier in the webcast.
01:13 Now coming up, we should throttle down the Merlin 1D engines in preparation for max Q, or maximum aerodynamic pressure.
01:20 [engine noise]
01:24 Max Q.
01:25 And there's that callout we did just pass through the point of max Q.
01:28 And now we have three events coming up in quick succession, starting with MECO, STAGESEP, and SES-1.
01:34 Main engine cutoff, or MECO, is the point during the flight where we shut down those nine Merlin 1D engines on the first stage.
01:40 Shortly after that, stages 1 and 2 will separate from each other, and that's so that the second stage isn't carrying unnecessary mass to orbit,
01:48 and of course the first stage booster begins its trip back down to Earth.
01:52 Second engine start 1, or SES-1, will be when we ignite the Merlin vacuum engine on board the second stage.
02:00 Nominal trajectory.
02:03 So we're coming up on those events in around 40 seconds, so let's keep a close eye on our screen for those events.
02:09 [engine noise]
02:16 Getting some great views of the ascent of the first stage here.
02:19 You can see the plume of the rocket is expanding as the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases.
02:46 MECO.
02:49 Stage separation confirmed.
02:56 And vacuum engine.
02:59 There we go, folks. You just heard and saw those three events that happened back-to-back.
03:03 Those were MECO, STAGESEP, and SES-1.
03:07 Coming up next in around 30 seconds will be fairing separation.
03:14 As a reminder, on the left side of your screen, you are seeing a live view of the first stage,
03:19 and on the right side of your screen, you're seeing a live view of the MBAC engine attached to the second stage.
03:26 Now keep a close eye on the telemetry in the bottom left and right corners of your screen.
03:32 You can see MBAC is continuing to accelerate the payload faster and faster,
03:37 and stage one is actually slowing down as it is no longer under power of rocket engines.
03:41 Faring separation confirmed.
03:43 And there we go. There go those two fairing halves.
03:45 We will be attempting to retrieve both of those again today once they fall back to Earth,
03:49 and we'll be using our recovery vessel, Bob, for that.
03:54 Coming up next are the two burns on the first stage, and that is to prepare us for landing on our drone ship.
03:59 Just read the instructions.
04:03 [radio chatter]
04:06 Now we're just about T-plus four minutes into today's mission.
04:10 We are currently in the first of two planned MBAC burns prior to satellite deployment.
04:16 At around T-plus six minutes, you should see on your screen the first stage's --
04:19 [radio chatter]
04:22 You should see the first stage's entry burn at about T-plus six minutes.
04:26 Now for the entry burn, we do relight three of the M1D engines,
04:29 and that's starting with the center E9 engine, followed shortly after by the E1 and E5 engines.
04:35 And that slows the vehicle down as it passes back into the Earth's atmosphere.
04:40 Now we need to slow down the vehicle to reduce reentry forces,
04:43 and that helps us recover and reuse the first stage.
04:46 So be sure to follow along with the telemetry in the bottom left and right corners of your screen.
04:53 During the entry burn, Falcon 9 is decelerating by firing its Merlin engines,
04:57 but we're still moving very rapidly.
04:59 So this causes the vehicle to fly through Merlin's exhaust gases,
05:02 also sometimes called the rocket's plume,
05:05 and this deposits a layer of soot on the vehicle's surface.
05:08 And that soot comes from the carbon-based fuel that Falcon 9 uses.
05:16 So again, coming up on the entry burn in about a minute and 10 seconds from now,
05:22 currently getting a great view of the MBAC engine continuing its burn.
05:28 We are now traveling over 12,000 kilometers per hour as we head to orbit.
05:54 You can see that beautiful orange glow of the MBAC nozzle extension.
05:59 That's one of the methods that the nozzle uses to cool itself during burn.
06:10 Again, on the left side of your screen is a view of the first stage.
06:15 Should be starting up for the entry burn in just around 15 seconds.
06:33 Stage 1 entry burn startup.
06:35 Stage 1 FTS is saved.
06:37 And there's that callout. We did just start up engines 1, 5, and 9 for the entry burn.
06:44 This burn is around 20 seconds in total.
06:48 You can see in the telemetry in the bottom left side of your screen that the vehicle is slowing down rapidly now.
06:55 Stage 1 entry burn shutdown.
06:57 And there we go. Just had confirmation of stage 1 entry burn shutdown.
07:02 As a reminder, the first stage that's supporting today's mission will perform the entry burn for the sixth time.
07:07 It has previously supported crew 5, GPS 3, space vehicle 6, NMARSAT 6F2, CRS 28, and a past Starlink mission.
07:17 Falcon 9 is of course the world's first orbital class reusable rocket.
07:21 And this is important because reusability allows SpaceX to refly the most expensive parts of the rocket.
07:26 And that in turn drives down the cost of space access.
07:31 Next milestone coming up is the shutdown of the MBAC engine on the second stage.
07:36 And that'll be followed quickly by our landing burn on the first stage.
07:41 So we do have about 30 more seconds.
07:46 30 more seconds in the first burn of MBAC.
07:52 As you can see now, we are traveling over 23,000 kilometers per hour.
07:57 Stage 1 transonic.
08:08 Stage 2 FTS is saved.
08:20 Stage 1 landing burn.
08:28 MBAC shutdown.
08:30 There's Seiko 1. We're just waiting confirmation of a good orbit and a stage 1 landing.
08:34 Nominal orbit insertion.
08:36 There we go. Great news there. Confirmation of a good orbit.
08:41 Stage 1 landing leg deploy.
08:52 Stage 1 landing confirmed.
08:54 There you have it, folks.
08:56 That landing marked SpaceX's 213th recovery of an orbital class rocket.
09:02 And that includes first stage landings for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions.
09:06 Now the mission isn't over just yet. The second stage is now embarking on its first coast phase.
09:12 After this coast phase, we will light that MBAC engine for a second time around the T+ 26-minute mark.
09:18 So we'll see you back here in about 17 minutes.