A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The first stage of the rocket landed a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean several minutes after separation.
Credit: SpaceX
The first stage of the rocket landed a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean several minutes after separation.
Credit: SpaceX
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TechTranscript
00:00 Coming up next, we should hear a call out over the nets updating us that Falcon 9 is in startup, which means that the flight computers have taken over the launch countdown.
00:08 Falcon 9 is in startup.
00:15 And we just heard the call out that Falcon 9 is now in startup, and in a few seconds we should hear our launch director, or LD, give the final go for launch.
00:29 LD, go for launch.
00:31 Just heard from the launch director that they've given the final go to proceed for launch, so now let's sit back and watch as Falcon 9 takes our 22 Starlink satellites into space.
00:40 30 seconds.
00:43 15 seconds.
00:58 10 seconds.
00:59 22 Mike 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ignition, engines full power, and liftoff of Starlink 6-10. Go Starlink, go Falcon.
01:20 Vehicle is pitching down right.
01:27 Engine chamber pressure nominal.
01:31 At T plus 30 seconds, F9 has successfully lifted off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida at 11.36pm Eastern Time.
01:51 The next major milestone coming up is Max Q, which is when the vehicle experiences the greatest amount of external stress as it ascends through the Earth's atmosphere.
02:00 Falcon 9 is supersonic.
02:10 Falcon 9 is supersonic, which means it's now traveling faster than the speed of sound.
02:15 Max Q.
02:16 You just heard that call for Max Q, which again is when the rocket experiences the largest amount of external stress.
02:43 We're now about one minute away from a series of back-to-back events.
02:46 We have MECO, or main engine cutoff, stage separation, which is SES-1, or second engine start one, and then fairing separation.
02:54 MECO, or main engine cutoff, is when all nine of the M1D engines on the first stage shut down.
02:59 Stage separation is when the first and second stages separate from one another.
03:03 SES-1, or second engine start one, is where we light the Merlin vacuum engine on the second stage.
03:08 And then fairing separation is when the two fairing halves separate and fall away from the second stage.
03:13 So let's keep an eye out for these events as they are going to happen in quick succession.
03:18 [SILENCE]
03:43 MECO.
03:45 Stage separation confirmed.
03:48 And we just had some great views and confirmed over the nets that we had successful MECO, stage separation, and SES-1.
04:03 We're coming up on fairing separation from the second stage in just a few seconds.
04:08 [SILENCE]
04:22 Fairing separation confirmed.
04:24 Great call out there.
04:29 We will be attempting to recover both fairing halves using our recovery vessel, Doug.
04:33 Both of the fairing halves that supported today's mission are flight proven, with one half flying for its 10th time and the other its 11th.
04:40 [SILENCE]
04:56 So while we don't have a view of the first stage right now, it is on its way back to Earth towards our drone ship, a shortfall of Gravitas.
05:03 And the EMVAC engine that is attached to the second stage that you can see on your screen is continuing its burn, which will last for a few more minutes.
05:11 Vehicles are following a nominal trajectory.
05:14 [SILENCE]
05:35 Acquisition of signal, Bermuda.
05:37 [SILENCE]
05:46 Designed and manufactured by SpaceX, Starlink is the world's largest satellite Internet constellation.
05:51 Starlink satellites operate in low Earth orbit, which enables the delivery of high-speed, low-latency Internet to people living in remote and rural locations around the globe.
06:00 [SILENCE]
06:29 [SILENCE]
06:39 As I mentioned earlier, today's Starlink mission marks SpaceX's 56th mission just this year and 255th mission overall.
06:47 Coming up next in the mission is the entry burn on the first stage, which is the first of two burns it will go through in preparation for landing.
06:53 On the entry burn, engines one, five, and nine will relight, slowing it down for reentry.
06:59 [SILENCE]
07:07 Both vehicles continue to follow a nominal trajectory.
07:10 [SILENCE]
07:22 Stage one FTS has safety.
07:24 Stage one entry burn started.
07:25 [SILENCE]
07:28 There's that call for stage one entry burn.
07:30 You can see that three of those engines have relight.
07:33 [SILENCE]
07:46 Stage one entry burn shutdown.
07:48 [SILENCE]
07:49 Stage two FTS has safety.
07:51 And you just heard that call out that the entry burn on the first stage has now completed.
07:56 [SILENCE]
08:25 [SILENCE]
08:44 Stage one transonic.
08:45 [SILENCE]
08:48 The next event will be the stage one landing burn, which is when engine nine prepares for touchdown on our drone ship.
08:56 You can see on the bottom left-hand side of your screen that stage one is continuing to slow down, while stage two continues to increase in speed.
09:06 [SILENCE]
09:13 Stage one landing burn.
09:14 [SILENCE]
09:17 And there's confirmation that the stage one landing burn has started in preparation for touchdown on our drone ship, a shortfall of Gravitas.
09:25 [SILENCE]
09:31 Stage one landing leg deploy.
09:33 [SILENCE]
09:42 Stage one landing confirmed.
09:43 [SILENCE]
09:45 This Falcon 9 first stage has now successfully launched and landed for the 13th time.
09:50 We're now coming up on second engine cutoff.
09:52 [SILENCE]
09:58 [SILENCE]
10:06 We just heard that we had second engine cutoff, and now we're waiting for confirmation of good orbit.
10:11 [SILENCE]
10:40 Still waiting for confirmation of good orbit.
10:43 [SILENCE]
10:53 [SILENCE]
11:03 [SILENCE]
11:13 [SILENCE]
11:36 Although we didn't hear the call out, we did get confirmation from the teams that we did have nominal orbital insertion.
11:42 So today's landing marks our 217th overall landing of an orbital class rocket, including Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions.
11:49 And with confirmation of successful first stage landing and second engine cutoff, that wraps up our coverage for now.
11:55 Be sure to check out our social media for confirmation of Starlink deployment.
11:58 And thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.
12:00 Thank you.