Watch: SpaceX Launches 'Spy Satellites' For US Government

[00:00:01]And there you can see that strongback reclining away from Falcon now that those clamp arms are open.

[00:00:06]Now the strongback is hinged to the launch mount and will rotate away from the vehicle in preparation for launch.

[00:00:17]Now coming up shortly we should hear the callout indicating that locks loading has finished loading on the Falcon 9 first stage. Should be expecting that callout in just about 18 seconds from now.

[00:00:50]>> Stage one locks load complete.

[00:00:53]>> And there's that callout for stage one locks load completion. Now the first stage finishes fuel loading at around the T- minus 3 minute mark as we just heard and the second stage will finish loading about a minute from now.

[00:01:07]Now at this stage in the countdown the rocket is nearly fully loaded with about a million pounds of propellant and that includes rocket propellant one or RP-1 a highly refined kerosene and liquid oxygen or locks which is chilled to roughly 300° Fahrenheit below zero.

[00:01:30]And looking ahead in the count at T- minus 60 seconds Falcon 9 will enter startup and at that point the rocket's onboard flight computers will take over and from that point onward the countdown will be fully autonomous. Just inside of T- minus 2 seconds the 9 M1D engines will ignite and then once they're at full power we'll see Falcon 9 lift off from the pad and begin its climb to orbit.

[00:01:59]>> At T minus 1 minute and 45 >> locks load complete.

[00:02:03]>> And there's that call out for stage 2 locks loading completion. So, at this point Falcon 9 is now fully loaded with 1 million pounds of RP-1 and locks.

[00:02:12]And at T minus 1 minute and 30 seconds, the range is green, the payload remains healthy, and the team is still >> And the team is still tracking no issues.

[00:02:21]We also just heard that call out for ground gas closeouts, and this refers to venting and closing out gaseous systems such as topping off tanks and sealing vents to maintain pressure.

[00:02:31]And coming up in just about 10 seconds from now, we should hear that call out for Falcon 9 startup.

[00:02:46]>> Falcon 9 is in startup.

[00:02:49]>> And there's that call out for startup.

[00:02:51]At this point, the autonomous flight computers have taken over the launch countdown, and both stages are pressurizing for launch. We're now just waiting for the final go, no-go from the launch director for tonight's mission.

[00:03:01]>> Launch director, go for launch.

[00:03:03]>> And great news there, the LD has given the final go. So, let's sit back and watch as Falcon 9 takes NROL-179 to space.

[00:03:16]>> T minus 30 seconds.

[00:03:30]T minus 15.

[00:03:35]T minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

[00:03:49]Go for SpaceX. Liftoff of NROL-179.

[00:03:58]>> Vehicle is pitching down range.

[00:04:01]>> On windy chamber pressures are nominal.

[00:04:16]>> At T plus 30 seconds and counting, Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

[00:04:25]We'll now be throttling down the engines to prepare for MaxQ, which is the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.

[00:04:31]>> Power and telemetry nominal.

[00:04:33]>> And nominal call out there. MaxQ is the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure during ascent. And MaxQ occurs when the combination of speed and air pressure puts the greatest stress on the vehicle.

[00:04:44]>> And there's that call out that Falcon 9 is now supersonic. We should be hearing that call out for MaxQ in just a moment.

[00:04:52]>> MaxQ.

[00:04:53]>> And there's that call out for MaxQ. Now coming up next, we're going to have several major events in quick succession. And these are main engine cut off, followed by stage separation, then second engine start, followed by the boost back burn.

[00:05:06]>> Mvac chill.

[00:05:08]>> Nominal call out there for Mvac chill.

[00:05:10]Boost back burn and then followed by fairing separation. Main engine cut off or MECO is when all nine engines on the first stage shut down. This is then followed by stage separation where the first and second stages are pushed apart.

[00:05:22]Immediately after the second stage engine will ignite to continue pushing toward orbit. And shortly after the first stage will start a boost back burn, putting it putting it on track for landing back near the launch site.

[00:05:37]Now this series of call outs should we should start hearing this series of call outs in just about 15 seconds from now.

[00:05:49]>> Copy.

[00:06:04]>> Main engine cutoff.

[00:06:07]>> Stage separation confirmed.

[00:06:11]>> And back start up.

[00:06:13]>> Stage one boost back start up.

[00:06:17]>> And there were those calls for MECO followed by stage separation and then SES-1 and the start of the boost back burn.

[00:06:24]Coming up next we'll have fairing separation. Now, once the vehicle reaches the vacuum of space, the protective payload fairing is no longer necessary and gets jettisoned and retrieved for future use.

[00:06:35]Also, as a reminder, we will not be showing any views of stage two today.

[00:06:48]>> Fairing separation confirmed.

[00:06:51]>> And there's confirmation of fairing separation. As a reminder, both of these fairing halves were already flight-proven with one half flying for its 35th time and the other for its third.

[00:07:03]And coming up in just a few moments, we should hear the call out for boost back burn shutdown on the Falcon 9 first stage.

[00:07:10]>> Stage one boost back shutdown.

[00:07:12]>> And there's that call out.

[00:07:15]Now, if you're just joining us, you're watching live coverage of the NROL-179 mission. To recap, we had an on-time liftoff at 1:50 >> are on nominal trajectories.

[00:07:26]>> And great call out there. We had an on-time liftoff at 1:50 a.m. Pacific Time from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and had successful stage separation of our Falcon rocket.

[00:08:00]>> Mhm.