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Two shuttles sighted



Stunning aerial views of shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour perched atop launch pads 39A and 39B on Sept. 20.



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Endeavour to pad 39B



Space shuttle Endeavour made the journey from Kennedy Space Center to pad 39B in the predawn hours of Sept. 19.



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MAVEN to Mars



NASA has selected the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft, or MAVEN, for launch to the Red Planet.



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Endeavour to the VAB



For its role as a rescue craft during the Hubble servicing mission and the scheduled November logistics run to the space station, Endeavour is moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building.



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STS-125: The mission



A detailed step-by-step preview of space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to extend the life and vision of the Hubble Space Telescope.



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Falcon 1 Flight 4 timeline

COMPILED BY SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: September 27, 2008

Updated: Sept. 28 to correct 7.5 km/sec typo

T+00:00 Liftoff The Merlin main engine, producing 78,000 pounds of sea level thrust, powers the Falcon 1 rocket away from its launch pad on Omelek Island at Kwajalein Atoll. T+00:04 Tower Clear The 70-foot-tall Falcon 1 rocket clears the small umbilical tower erected at the launch pad. T+00:54 Mach 1 The Falcon 1 rocket passes the speed of sound while continuing to ride the power of its Merlin main engine. T+01:08 Max-Q The Falcon 1 rocket passes through the period of maximum aerodynamic pressure on the vehicle. This point in the flight is often called Max-Q. T+02:20 Inertial Guidance The Falcon 1 guidance system switches to inertial mode. T+02:25 Second Stage Pressurization The second stage's kerosene and liquid oxygen tanks are pressurized in preparation for the ignition of the Kestrel engine. T+02:37 MECO The Merlin 1C engine exhausts its supply of propellant and shuts down, an event known as Main Engine Cut-Off or MECO. T+02:42 Stage Separation The first and second stage separate. For this fourth flight of Falcon, the length of time between engine cutoff and stage separation has been lengthened from approximately 1.5 seconds to 5 seconds. This will allow the residual engine thrust to subside before the spent stage is jettisoned, thereby preventing the stage collision that caused the third launch to fail. T+02:45 Kestrel Ignition The second stage Kestrel engine ignites and ramps up to 6,900 pounds of thrust for injection of the rocket into Earth orbit. T+02:48 Falcon 1 Reaches Space The Falcon 1 passes an altitude of 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, the internationally-accepted boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space. T+02:53 Stiffener Jettison Structural stiffeners attached to the Kestrel engine nozzle are jettisoned a few seconds after ignition. T+03:15 Fairing Jettison The two halves of the Falcon 1's payload fairing are jettisoned after the rocket completes its flight through the thick layers of the atmosphere. The nose cone shields the payload during the countdown and early portions of the launch. T+08:49 Terminal Guidance As the rocket nears orbit, the Falcon 1 switches to terminal guidance mode. T+09:34 Orbital Velocity The rocket achieves a speed of 7.5 kilometers per second, the required velocity to reach the mission's planned orbit. T+09:39 SECO The Kestrel engine shuts down after the rocket climbs into an orbit with a high point of 425 miles, a low point of 205 miles and an inclination of 9 degrees. The payload for this demonstration test launch, a 364-pound mass designed to simulate a satellite, will remain attached to the second stage. T+10:18 Loss of Signal Ground stations lose the radio signal from the Falcon 1 rocket as the vehicle flies over the horizon at Kwajalein Atoll.

Data source: SpaceX

