Launch day timeline for Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket

Relativity Space’s Terran 1 rocket on Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Credit: Relativity Space / Trevor Mahlmann

Relativity Space’s 10-story-tall Terran 1 rocket will encounter the most extreme aerodynamic forces of its eight-minute test flight around 80 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral. That’s a key moment when the company’s engineers hope to confirm the 3D-printed rocket can withstand the rigors of launch.

The expendable Terran 1 rocket is set to blast off from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during a three-hour window opening at 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) Wednesday. Forecasters expect good weather for the launch of Relativity Space’s first rocket.

Read our mission preview story for details on Relativity Space and the Terran 1 test flight.

The 110-foot-tall (33.5-meter) rocket will be powered up for final pre-flight checkouts early Wednesday.

COUNTDOWN TIMELINE

• T-minus 7 hours: Vehicle power-up and checkouts

• T-minus 4 hours: Personnel clear the launch pad; Methane and liquid oxygen loading begins

• T-minus 60 minutes: Propellant loading complete

• T-minus 16 minutes: Launch director performs pre-launch readiness poll

• T-minus 10 minutes: Automated countdown sequence begins

In the final 10 minutes of the countdown, the Terran 1 rocket’s nine methane-fueled Aeon 1 engines will be thermally conditioned for flight through a procedure known as chilldown. The ignitors will be primed, and the Terran 1 will switch from its ground power supply to internal power. The strongback at the launch pad will be partially retracted in the final minutes before launch.

• T-minus 1 minute, 10 seconds: Terminal countdown begins to run checks for launch commit criteria

• T-minus 6 seconds: Ignition of Terran 1’s nine Aeon 1 main engines; Automated health check begins

• T-minus 0 seconds: Four hold-down devices release the Terran 1 rocket for liftoff

Credit: Relativity Space

LAUNCH TIMELINE

• T+plus 0 seconds: Liftoff of the Terran 1; Nine Aeon 1 engines producing 207,000 pounds of thrust

• T+plus 12 seconds: Engine thrust vector controllers begin pitching the Terran 1 rocket downrange

• T+plus 1 minute, 20 seconds: Maximum aerodynamic pressure

• T+plus 2 minutes, 40 seconds: First stage main engine cutoff

• T+plus 2 minutes, 45 seconds: Terran 1’s 80-foot-long first stage separates from the second stage

• T+plus 2 minutes, 51 seconds: Ignition of Aeon Vac engine producing 25,400 pounds of thrust

• T+plus 7 minutes, 43 seconds: Second stage engine cutoff

• T+plus 8 minutes: Terran 1 in orbit

The Terran 1 rocket fires nine methane-fueled Aeon main engines during a hold-down test-firing at Cape Canaveral. Credit: Relativity Space

ROCKET: Terran 1

PAYLOAD: “Good Luck, Have Fun” test flight; No customer payload

LAUNCH SITE: LC-16, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida

LAUNCH DATE: March 8, 2023

LAUNCH WINDOW: 1:00-4:00 p.m. EST (1800-2100 GMT)

WEATHER FORECAST: 90% chance of acceptable weather

BOOSTER RECOVERY: None

LAUNCH AZIMUTH: East

TARGET ORBIT: 124 miles by 130 miles (365 kilometers by 373 kilometers), 28.5 degrees inclination

MISSION STATS:

1st launch by Relativity Space 1st launch of Terran 1 rocket 151st launch from Launch Complex 16 12th orbital launch attempt based out of Cape Canaveral in 2023

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