Learn about the mission profile about United's Launch Alliance - the 2nd certification flight of the Vulcan rocket.
Credit: ULA
Credit: ULA
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TechTranscript
00:00Following final confirmation of rocket readiness, twin BE-4 engines and two GEM-63XL solid
00:08rocket boosters produce more than 1.8 million pounds of thrust to lift ULA's Vulcan rocket
00:14away from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 41.
00:20Shortly after liftoff, the rocket begins a pitch over to attain the proper flight path
00:24while minimizing the dynamic pressure it experiences during flight.
00:29Vulcan then reaches Mach 1, the speed of sound.
00:33With the ability to add two, four or six solid rocket boosters, or SRBs, Vulcan can be precisely
00:41configured to take any mission to space, from low Earth orbit to Pluto and beyond.
00:47These boosters augment the rocket's total thrust at liftoff, adding approximately 460,000
00:53pounds of thrust per SRB.
00:56With their propellant expired approximately 90 seconds into ascent, the SRBs burn out,
01:02followed by jettison.
01:03Jettison time is variable, occurring between 100 and 150 seconds after liftoff, depending
01:09on mission requirements.
01:11Vulcan's guidance system then activates to steer towards the precise target in space.
01:16First stage flight continues as the rocket crosses the Kármán line, entering space.
01:21With the majority of propellant expended as Vulcan fights against the force of gravity,
01:26the BE-4 engines shut down, and the booster stage separates.
01:31With the rocket now weighing less than 10% of what it did at liftoff, dual RL-10C engines
01:36on ULA's Centaur upper stage ignite.
01:40Spacecraft are encapsulated inside a 5.4-meter diameter payload fairing, which provides a
01:45protective environment during ascent.
01:48Following Centaur engine ignition, the payload fairing is jettisoned.
01:52With the first burn complete, the Centaur engine shuts down for a coast phase.
01:58Further into flight, Centaur ignites for a second burn, powering the vehicle into a hyperbolic
02:03injection orbit.
02:05Following the second main engine cutoff, ULA's Centaur will continue into an orbit around
02:10the sun.