LIVE: SpaceX launches classified mission for U.S. intelligence agency

[00:00:01]Falcon 9 tanks are pressurizing for strong back retract.

[00:00:05]>> And there's a nominal call out there as we prepare for strong back retraction.

[00:00:10]We should be seeing those clamp arms open in just about 20 seconds from now.

[00:00:15]Now, those clamps help stabilize the second stage during fueling and prevent movement in high winds. Once they're open, the rocket will be fully free at the top, but will still be held down at the base.

[00:00:30]Strong back retract has started.

[00:00:34]>> And there's that call out. The strong back retract has started. Now you may hear the TE called the strong back.

[00:00:38]Though the strong back is just one of the components of the transporter erector. It actually has two components.

[00:00:44]A strong back alongside Falcon 9 and a launch mount underneath. And there on your screen you can see those clamp arms opening around the second stage.

[00:00:53]Now, the launch mount has four hold downs that will release at T0. The TE also does a lot of heavy lifting as it rolls Falcon 9 out to the pad, raises it vertical, and stays connected to the rocket through the final seconds before launch. It also provides fuel, power, telemetry, and command connections between ground systems and the vehicle.

[00:01:15]And there you can see that Strong back reclining away from Falcon now that those clamp arms are open. Now, the Strong Back is hinged to the launch mount and will rotate away from the vehicle in preparation for launch.

[00:01:31]Now, coming up shortly, we should hear the call out indicating that locks loading has finished loading on the Falcon 9 first stage. Should be expecting that call out in just about 18 seconds from now.

[00:02:04]Stage one locks load complete.

[00:02:07]>> And there's that call out for stage one locks load completion. Now the first stage finishes fuel loading at around the t-minus 3m minute mark as we just heard. And the second stage will finish loading about a minute from now.

[00:02:21]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 1 or RP1, a highly refined kerosene and liquid oxygen or locks, which is chilled to roughly 300° F below zero.

[00:02:44]And looking ahead in the count at T-minus 60 seconds, Falcon 9 will enter.

[00:02:49]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 nine 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 at T-minus 1 minute 45.

[00:03:15]>> Stage two, lock complete. And there's that call out for stage two locks loading completion. So at this point, Falcon 9 is now fully loaded with 1 million pounds of RP1 and locks. And at t minus 1 minute and 30 seconds, the range is green. The payload remains healthy. And the team is >> gas.

[00:03:32]>> And the team is still tracking no issues. 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. And coming up in just about 10 seconds from now, we should hear that call out for Falcon 9 startup.

[00:04:00]>> Falcon 9 is in startup.

[00:04:03]>> And there's that call out for startup.

[00:04:05]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.

[00:04:15]>> Launch director, go for launch.

[00:04:17]>> And great news there. The LD has given the final go. So, let's sit back and watch as Falcon 9 takes NOL 179 to space.

[00:04:29]>> T-minus 30 seconds.

[00:04:44]T - 15 T - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Go Vehicle is pitching down range.

[00:05:15]When D chamber pressures are nominal 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. will now be throttling down the engines to prepare for max Q, which is the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure.

[00:05:45]>> Power and telemetry nominal >> and nominal call out there. Max Q is the point of maximum aerodynamic pressure during ascent. And max Q occurs when the combination of speed and air pressure puts the greatest stress on the vehicle.

[00:05:57]>> Supersonic.

[00:05:58]>> And there's that call out that Falcon 9 is now supersonic. We should be hearing that call out for Max Q in just a moment.

[00:06:06]>> Max Q. And there's that call out for Max Q. Now, coming up next, we're going to have several major events in quick succession, and these are main engine cutoff, followed by stage separation, then second engine start, followed by the boost back burn.

[00:06:20]>> MVAC chill.

[00:06:21]>> Nominal call out there for MVAC chill.

[00:06:24]Boost back burn, and then followed by fairing separation. Main engine cutoff or MO 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. 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.

[00:06:51]Now, this series of callouts should uh we should start hearing the series of callouts in just about 15 seconds from now.

[00:07:18]main engine cut off.

[00:07:20]>> Stage separation confirmed.

[00:07:25]>> I'm back startup.

[00:07:27]>> Stage one boost back startup.

[00:07:30]And there were those call outs for Miko followed by stage separation and then SCS1 and the start of the boost back burn. 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. Also, as a reminder, we will not be showing any views of stage 2 today.

[00:08:02]Fairing separation confirmed.

[00:08:05]>> 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.

[00:08:17]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.

[00:08:24]>> Stage one boost back shutdown. And there's that call out.

[00:08:28]Now, if you're just joining us, you're watching live coverage of the NOL 179 mission. To recap, we had an on-time liftoff at 150.

[00:08:37]>> Stages are on nominal trajectories >> and great call out there. We had an on-time liftoff at 1:50 a.m. Pacific time from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and had successful stage separation of our Falcon rocket. Up next will be the return of our Falcon 9 to Earth. Now, in order to make its way back to back to Earth today, the Falcon 9 first stage will still have two more burns to execute after it just finished up its boost back burn. First up will be the entry burn, which helps to slow the stage down as it re-enters the upper part of the Earth's atmosphere. And following the entry burn, shortly thereafter, the booster will initiate its landing burn, which will slow the vehicle down for a soft touchdown at landing zone 4 uh at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Now, that entry burn is set to begin at around the T plus 5 minute and 49 second mark.

[00:09:58]Now, during the entry burn, Falcon 9 will be decelerating by firing its Merlin engines in the direction it's moving. And this causes the rocket to fly through the engine's exhaust gases, which deposits a layer of soot on the vehicle surface. And this is what gives our flight proven vehicles their characteristic look. And that soot comes from the carbon-based fuel that Falcon 9 uses. And with each flight, the soot builds up a little more on the outside of the vehicle.

[00:10:28]Now, it's definitely a little dark out there right now with the graininess that you can see on your camera, but we do want to follow the Falcon 9 booster as it makes its way back to Vandenberg.

[00:10:49]stage one entry burn startup.

[00:10:54]And there's that call out for entry burn startup on the Falcon 9 first stage.

[00:10:57]Now, this burn is set to last about 17 seconds and is going to slow down the vehicle in preparation for its final burn and landing.

[00:11:09]Stage one entry burn shutdown.

[00:11:11]>> And there's that call out for entry burn shutdown, signifying the completion of the Falcon 9 first stage entry burn. And coming up next will be the first stage landing burn about a minute, just under a minute from now.

[00:11:24]>> Stage one trajectory nominal.

[00:11:28]>> And great news there that the vehicle is following a nominal trajectory. Now the landing burn is the final burn of the Falcon 9 booster and is used to reduce the remaining speed of the vehicle for a precise landing. And again this booster is returning to Vandenberg Space Force Base not far from where it launched about >> stage one FTS safe.

[00:11:46]>> Not far from where it launched >> just under 7 minutes ago.

[00:11:53]>> Now we should be hearing the call out for the landing burn start in just about 10 seconds from now.

[00:12:08]Stage one landing burn.

[00:12:11]>> And there's that call out for the Falcon 9 first stage landing burn.

[00:12:26]>> Stage one landing light deploy.

[00:12:34]Stage one landing confirmed >> and another successful landing of our Falcon 9 rocket. And as a reminder, this was the third flight for the booster supporting tonight's mission. And as mentioned at the top of the program, we will not be showing any stage two or deployment views today at the request of our customer. So with the successful recovery of that first stage, we'll be bringing our live mission coverage to a close. We'd like to thank the National Reconnaissance Office for entrusting us with today's mission, as well as the Range and FAA for their support. And if you're interested in more launch coverage, head on over to spacex.com/launches for the most up-to-date information. And of course, remember to follow at spaceexonx for more updates. Thanks for joining, and we'll see you again soon.

[00:13:22]Heat. Heat.