A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Aug. 6, 2023 at 10:41 p.m. EDT (0241 GMT on Aug. 7).
The first stage of the rocket landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic Ocean several minutes after separation.
Credit: SpaceX
The first stage of the rocket landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic Ocean several minutes after separation.
Credit: SpaceX
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TechTranscript
00:00 Coming up in a couple seconds we should hear a call out indicating that Falcon 9 is in
00:04 startup.
00:05 Falcon 9 is in startup.
00:11 All right that tells us the flight computers have now taken over the launch countdown.
00:18 LD, go for launch.
00:25 And there's our final go for launch tonight coming to us from our launch director or LD.
00:31 So with that let's sit back and watch as Falcon 9 takes our 22 Starlink satellites into space.
00:37 T-minus 30 seconds and counting.
00:44 T-minus 15 seconds and counting.
00:54 T-minus 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ignition, lift off.
01:18 Vehicles pitching downrange.
01:19 M1D chamber pressures are nominal.
01:42 We're now at T-plus 35 seconds.
01:44 Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 from Cape Canaveral,
01:49 Florida at 1141 p.m. Eastern Time.
01:53 Next major milestone coming up.
01:55 Nominal power and telemetry.
01:58 Next major milestone is Max Q and that is when the vehicle experiences the greatest
02:03 amount of external stresses as it ascends through the Earth's atmosphere.
02:10 Vehicle supersonic.
02:12 That call out there tells us that the vehicle is traveling faster than the speed of sound.
02:20 Max Q.
02:21 And there's that call out for Max Q. Again, that's when the rocket experiences the greatest
02:26 amount of external stresses.
02:45 Now we're less than a minute away from a series of events that will happen in quick succession.
02:50 Main engine cutoff, stage separation, second engine start one, and fairing separation.
02:56 Main engine cutoff or MECO as it's written on that timeline there at the bottom of your
03:01 screen.
03:02 That's where all nine Merlin 1D engines will on that first stage will shut down.
03:08 Next will be stage separation and that's when as the name suggests the first and second
03:12 stages will separate.
03:14 SCS1 or second engine start one is where we will light the Merlin vacuum engine on that
03:20 second stage.
03:22 And fairing separation is when those two fairing halves will separate and fall away from the
03:26 second stage.
03:32 Coming up now to main engine cutoff.
03:37 MECO.
03:46 Stage separation confirmed.
03:52 And back startup.
03:55 As you just saw and heard over the nets, we had successful main engine cutoff, stage separation,
04:01 and SCS1.
04:02 We're now coming up on fairing separation from the second stage in just a few seconds.
04:11 That is the first stage extending the grid fins on the left hand side of your screen
04:15 and second stage on the right.
04:20 Fairing separation confirmed.
04:27 Beautiful view of those two fairing halves separating and falling away from the second
04:30 stage exposing our stack of Starlink satellites.
04:36 We will be attempting to recover both fairing halves using our recovery vessel Doug.
04:40 Both of the fairing halves that supported today's mission are flight proven with one
04:45 half flying for its eighth time and the other for its tenth.
04:56 Last view of the second stage engine, that MVAC engine or Merlin vacuum engine.
05:02 There's one single engine on the second stage.
05:07 Currently the first stage, not currently on screen, but it is on its way back to Earth
05:12 toward our drone ship, a short fall of Gravitas.
05:15 And that MVAC engine there attached to the second stage is continuing along with its
05:20 burn, which will last about another two and a half minutes.
05:26 Designed and manufactured by SpaceX, Starlink is the world's largest satellite internet
05:31 constellation.
05:33 Starlink satellites operate in low Earth orbit, which enables the delivery of high speed,
05:37 low latency internet to people living in remote and rural locations around the globe.
05:54 Acquisition of signal, Bermuda.
06:03 Vehicles on a nominal trajectory.
06:20 Everything continues to look good for both the first and second stages.
06:23 Live views of that second stage on your screen now.
06:27 As I mentioned earlier, today's Starlink mission marks SpaceX's 53rd mission just this
06:33 year and 250 second mission overall.
06:44 Coming up in about 30 seconds, we will have entry burn for the first stage, which is the
06:50 first of two burns that that stage will execute in preparation for landing.
07:00 Right now, the first stage is steering itself back to Earth.
07:07 We're targeting a landing on our drone ship, a short fall of Gravitas.
07:11 Stage one FCS is saved.
07:23 Stage one entry burn startup.
07:29 Here's the call for stage one entry burn, which you can see there on the left hand side
07:32 of your screen.
07:34 Stage one, which we also call the booster, has now ignited engines one, five and nine.
07:39 Stage one entry burn shutdown.
07:40 It is now shut off engines one, five and nine.
07:44 And that maneuver allowed it to allow it to slow the vehicle down for atmospheric reentry.
07:54 Pretty cool view of the grid fins there on the left hand side of your screen.
07:59 Those actually measure four feet by five feet, and they're one of the largest cast titanium
08:04 structures in the world.
08:11 Stage two is on a nominal trajectory.
08:36 Stage one transonic.
08:40 That call out there tells us that the first stage is transonic, meaning it is traveling
08:45 near the speed of sound.
08:56 Next milestone we have coming up is landing of the first stage.
09:01 That will be the final burn that the first stage performs, and it will attempt to make
09:07 a soft landing on our drone ship.
09:10 Stage one landing burn.
09:12 There we can see that landing burn has begun.
09:17 In preparation for touchdown on our drone ship, a shortfall of gravitas.
09:24 Landing leg deploy.
09:33 Stage one landing confirmed.
09:37 Cool backlit view of that first stage.
09:42 Falcon 9 first stage has now successfully launched and landed for the fourth time.
09:51 One of the younger rockets in our fleet.
09:55 Now coming up on second engine cutoff.
10:19 Heard confirmation of nominal orbit insertion.
10:23 Great timing.
10:24 Heard confirmation of second engine cutoff followed by nominal orbital insertion.
10:29 So now that we know.
10:30 Expected loss of signal.
10:34 Great news there with that confirmation of good orbit.
10:38 Today's landing marks our 214th overall landing of an orbital class rocket including Falcon
10:43 9 and Falcon Heavy missions.
10:46 With confirmation of successful first stage landing and second engine cutoff and good
10:51 orbit, that will wrap up our coverage for now.
10:54 Be sure to check our social media for confirmation of Starlink deployment.
10:59 Thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.