00:01Following final confirmation of rocket readiness, twin BE-4 engines and two GEM-63XL solid rocket boosters produce more than
00:101.8 million pounds of thrust to lift ULA's Vulcan rocket away from Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41.
00:19Shortly after liftoff, the rocket begins a pitch-over to attain the proper flight path while minimizing the dynamic pressure
00:26it experiences during flight.
00:28Vulcan then reaches Mach 1, the speed of sound.
00:32With the ability to add two, four, or six solid rocket boosters, or SRBs, Vulcan can be precisely configured to
00:41take any mission to space, from low Earth orbit to Pluto and beyond.
00:47These boosters augment the rocket's total thrust at liftoff, adding approximately 460,000 pounds of thrust per SRB.
00:55With their propellant expired approximately 90 seconds into ascent, the SRBs burn out, followed by jettison.
01:03Jettison time is variable, occurring between 100 and 150 seconds after liftoff, depending on mission requirements.
01:10Vulcan's guidance system then activates to steer towards the precise target in space.
01:16First stage flight continues as the rocket crosses the Kármán line, entering space.
01:21With the majority of propellant expended as Vulcan fights against the force of gravity, the BE-4 engines shut down,
01:28and the booster stage separates.
01:30With the rocket now weighing less than 10% of what it did at liftoff, dual RL-10C engines on
01:36ULA's Centaur upper stage ignite.
01:40Spacecraft are encapsulated inside a 5.4-meter diameter payload fairing, which provides a protective environment during ascent.
01:47Following Centaur engine ignition, the payload fairing is jettisoned.
01:51With the first burn complete, the Centaur engine shuts down for a coast phase.
01:57Further into flight, Centaur ignites for a second burn, powering the vehicle into a hyperbolic injection orbit.
02:04Following the second main engine cutoff, ULA Centaur will continue into an orbit around the Sun.
02:11from a
Comments