00:0110, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, liftoff.
00:21Vehicle's gonna head.
00:29Beginning pitch over.
00:42Stage one proportional.
00:47Liftoff for Electron's 94th launch with another strict satellite force inspected on its way to space.
00:55We are well clear of the pad now as we come up to our first checkpoint, Max-Q.
00:59This is the point during launch when aerodynamic forces against Electron are at their peak.
01:05Our guidance, navigation, and control operator in Mission Control will be the one to make that call out once we've
01:11cleared the milestone.
01:16Electron is supersonic.
01:35Cleared Max-Q.
01:38And there we go.
01:39That is Max-Q cleared by Electron on its way to space.
01:43Our telemetry is looking good, with Electron traveling faster than the speed of sound at more than 2,000 kilometers
01:50per hour.
01:51Next up is MECO, or Main Engine Cutoff, followed by stage separation and then second stage engine ignition.
01:59That's right.
02:00MECO is when all nine Rutherford engines shut down, which will help slow the pace of Electron just a touch
02:06before the second stage separates.
02:08Once that happens, the engine on stage two will power up to continue the mission to orbit, and that engine
02:15burn will last for several minutes.
02:16Make sure to listen closely during that moment of separation and second stage engine start up.
02:22You should be able to hear the engine, the batteries, excuse me, wind up just before ignition, and it's a
02:28pretty cool sound.
02:29Let's watch and listen now.
02:31Fifteen seconds to staging.
02:35Entered burnout detect mode.
02:47MECO confirmed.
02:54Stage 2 ignition confirmed.
02:55Stage separation confirmed.
03:01Three, four, three.
03:03That was MECO, stage separation, and second stage ignition in a nice clean sequence with a beautiful hot plume coming
03:10from that stage two Rutherford engine.
03:12Now that separation is complete, and we're through Earth's atmosphere, it's time to get rid of Electron sphering and drop
03:20some unnecessary weight from stage two.
03:22Keep your eyes on the screen and listen in closely.
03:29Fairing jettison confirmed.
03:34Guidance is nominal.
03:36Stage two propulsion nominal.
03:39Goodbye fairing and hello Space Force Inspectives' latest strict satellite.
03:45Just another six minutes until we're in orbit.
03:54HVB discharge is nominal.
04:14A quick check on the clock.
04:15We are at T plus four minutes into flight.
04:18Electron stage two burn continues nominally with that battery hot swap maneuver coming up shortly.
04:24More on that in a bit.
04:25But for now, we are just over 155 kilometers in altitude and zooming past more than 9,400 kilometers an
04:33hour on our way to orbit.
04:35H-2 propulsion holding nominal.
04:37H-2 propulsion holding nominal.
04:46H-2 propulsion holding nominal.
05:28We're expecting to hear a couple of callouts relating to Electron's second stage battery
05:33shortly.
05:34Now we talked before about how the propellant pumps on our Rutherford engines are powered
05:39by batteries.
05:40Well, when you're running a rocket engine, that battery power can drain pretty quick.
05:45And because Electron's second stage engine burn lasts a lot longer than the first stage,
05:50Electron performs a switchover that taps into the next set of batteries while the engine
05:55is still running and the old batteries are discarded.
05:58That move is called battery hotswap and is a critical next step in the second stage's
06:03journey onward to orbit.
06:04Let's watch and listen.
06:18HVB discharge is nominal, approaching hotswap in 30 seconds.
06:31Frottling down.
06:49Battery jettison confirmed.
06:52Hotswap successful.
06:56Nice one.
06:57That's hotswap confirmed and a smooth continuous operation for our second stage Rutherford engine.
07:03We've got another two minutes or so until stage two's final actions for this mission.
07:09Separating the kick stage with its Strix satellite and setting it core on course for payload deployment
07:14within the hour.
07:15Otherwise, the mission is continuing nominally along its trajectory, now past seven,
07:21now past around 16,000 kilometers in altitude and getting close to its required orbital speed
07:29of around 27,000 kilometers an hour.
07:47T plus seven and a half minutes into the 11th mission force inspective.
07:52Now, once the engine burn for stage two is complete, the kick stage and the Strix satellite together
07:57will be released into what's called a staging or transfer orbit, which is when the
08:02kick stage will travel on as it moves from its drop-off point to its apogee.
08:09Now, since we separate from the second stage on an elliptical pattern, the transfer orbit
08:14will bring the kick stage to the altitude of its planned 575 by 542 kilometer orbit.
08:21That journey takes around 40 minutes from the moment the kick stage is separated from the second stage.
08:27Once the kick stage reaches its target, the KERI engine will light up to increase the perigee
08:32ahead of payload deployment.
08:35But before all of that takes place, first we need to shut down stage two and perform our final stage
08:40separation.
08:41It's a similar process to what was achieved with Electron's first and second stages just a few minutes ago.
08:47Instead of MECO, its SECO, or second engine, cut off.
08:50And then the kick stage is released a second or so afterward into its staging orbit for the mission.
08:56SECO should be coming up shortly now, so let's watch it and listen.
09:17SECO confirmed.
09:21NOMINAL TRANSFER ORBIT ACHIEVED
09:23BREAK
