Hello, and welcome to live launch coverage of the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission!
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands poised for liftoff at Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Space Launch Complex-4 East in California, ready to send SWOT on the first mission to observe nearly all water on the Earth’s surface. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is managing the launch.
This will be LSP’s 42nd primary mission to launch from Vandenberg, and the program’s 101st full end-to-end mission.
Today’s launch has two instantaneous launch opportunities. The first is targeted for 6:46:47 a.m. EST (3:46:47 a.m. PST), with a backup opportunity 10 minutes later at 6:56:47 a.m. EST (3:56:47 a.m. PST). Watch the launch broadcast on NASA TV, YouTube, Twitter, the NASA app, or the agency’s website and follow along right here on the blog as we take you through the entire flight profile.
Here’s a look at some of today’s countdown and ascent milestones (all times are approximate):
COUNTDOWN
Hr/Min/Sec Event
– 00:38:00 SpaceX launch director verifies go for propellant load
– 00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading underway
– 00:35:00 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading underway
– 00:16:00 2nd stage LOX loading underway
– 00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
– 00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
– 00:01:00 Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
– 00:00:45 SpaceX launch director verifies go for launch
– 00:00:03 Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
– 00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff
LAUNCH, LANDING, AND SPACECRAFT DEPLOYMENT
Hr/Min/Sec Event
00:01:12 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:16 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:20 1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:27 2nd stage engine starts
00:02:33 Boostback burn start
00:02:58 Fairing deployment
00:03:28 Boostback burn end
00:06:02 1st stage entry burn start
00:06:14 1st stage entry burn complete
00:07:06 1st stage landing burn start
00:07:35 1st stage landing
00:08:24 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
00:43:22 2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:43:27 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-2)
00:52:28 SWOT deploys