A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Transporter 13 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on March 15, 2025 at 2:43 a.m. EDT (0643 GMT; 11:43 p.m. on March 14 local California time). Full Story: https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/spacex-74-satellites-transporter-13-rideshare-launch
The booster landed in California shortly after separation marking the 400th for a Falcon 9 first stage overall, according to SpaceX.
Credit: SpaceX
The booster landed in California shortly after separation marking the 400th for a Falcon 9 first stage overall, according to SpaceX.
Credit: SpaceX
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00:0010, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Ignition, liftoff of the Falcon 9, airspace is 15, 3, 3, 2, 1
00:20Stage 1 propulsion is nominal
00:27Vehicle is pitching downrange
00:30Airspace is 15, 3, 3, 2, 1, Ignition, liftoff of the Falcon 9, airspace is 15, 3, 3, 2, 1
00:44At T plus 30 seconds into flight, Falcon 9 has successfully cleared the tower and lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
00:52Now we're currently throttling down to prepare for Max Q, which is the point of maximum aerodynamic stresses on the vehicle.
00:58Max Q is reached when the air density of the atmosphere decreases faster than the increasing speed of the rocket.
01:07We should be hearing that call out for Max Q in just a few moments from now.
01:22And there we've just passed through Max Q.
01:24Now we have several events coming up in quick succession.
01:26First is MECO, or Main Engine Cutoff, where all nine Merlin engines shut down in preparation for stage separation, which is where the first stage separates from the second stage.
01:35Next, the MVAC engine on the second stage will light, which you will hear called out as 2nd Engine Start 1, or SES1.
01:44Then the first stage boostback burn will place the booster on a trajectory to head back to Earth towards landing zone 4.
01:50So keep an eye out for these events happening back-to-back. It will be quick.
02:13We're about 15 seconds away from Main Engine Cutoff.
02:20Main Engine Cutoff.
02:22Stage separation confirmed.
02:28MVAC ignition.
02:30Stage 1 boostback startup.
02:33And there you heard and saw those five events that happened back-to-back, including the first stage separation.
02:38We're about 15 seconds away from Main Engine Cutoff.
02:41Stage separation confirmed.
02:43MVAC ignition.
02:45Stage 1 boostback startup.
02:47And there you heard and saw those five events that happened back-to-back, including Main Engine Cutoff, followed by stage separation.
02:52Then we had the Stage 1 flip, and following that was the 2nd Engine Start 1 and the start of the boostback burn on the first stage.
02:59Coming up next will be fairing separation in just about 20 seconds from now.
03:17Fairing separation confirmed.
03:28And great call out there confirming fairing separation.
03:32So the boostback burn is ongoing, and that's used to slow the forward velocity and return the first stage back towards the landing site, which is LC-4 today.
03:40As a reminder, those fairing halves will make their way back to Earth for recovery.
03:43Stage 1 boostback shutdown.
03:47That's boostback shutdown.
03:52Now the next major milestone coming up is entry burn on our Falcon 9 first stage, which is scheduled to occur at around the T-plus 6 minute mark.
04:00We're currently in our first MVAC burn, and this burn should last for another few minutes.
04:04As I mentioned, the next milestone will be the first stage entry burn, coming up in a few minutes.
04:09Today, Falcon 9 is performing two burns in order to land.
04:15Now the first burn, known as the entry burn, slows the vehicle down before hitting the denser parts of the Earth's atmosphere.
04:21Today's entry burn will be a single engine entry burn, where only E-9, the center engine, will relight.
04:26And without this burn, we'd only be using the atmospheric drag to slow down Falcon 9, which would add extra stress to the vehicle.
04:33Following entry burn, the booster will initiate the landing burn, which should slow the vehicle down even more for a successful land landing.
05:03Now, reusability is key to lowering the cost of spaceflight, which enables more investments in critical space infrastructure.
05:19The Falcon 9 first stage that is supporting today's mission will be performing this entry burn for the 13th time tonight.
05:25This booster previously supported NASA Crew 7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter 10, EarthCare, NRL 186, and six Starlink missions.
05:37And we had a good call out there for good trajectories of both vehicles.
05:40Now the payload fairings for this mission are also flight proven, with one half flying for its 11th time and the other half flying for its 8th.
05:53Now, as a reminder, we should be hearing that call out for entry burn startup of the Falcon 9 first stage in just about 15 seconds from now.
06:22And good call out there for entry burn startup of the Falcon 9 first stage.
06:25This burn will last for about 15 seconds, and as a reminder, is on the left-hand side of your screen.
06:39And good call out there for entry burn shutdown.
06:41Now, as I mentioned earlier, we will be attempting to recover this booster for its 13th time today, and we're targeting a land-based landing at Vandenberg's LZ-4.
06:51Good call out there.
06:52Now, today's landing burn attempt will be a three-engine landing burn, where engines 1, 5, and 9 will relight to really quickly slow the vehicle down before touchdown.
07:04We should be hearing that call out for landing burn startup in just about 15 seconds from now.
07:12Stage 1 transonics.
07:24Stage 1 landing burn.
07:26And there you heard that call out for the landing burn start on the Falcon 9 first stage.
07:30This is the final burn that this booster will see before touching down on LZ-4.
07:40Stage 1 landing confirmed.
07:49And as you saw and probably heard, we had a successful first stage landing at LZ-4, marking the 13th landing for this specific booster.
07:56Stage 2 is in terminal guidance.
08:00And we had a good call out there.
08:01Now, next up, we're expecting shutdown of the second stage MVAC engine in just about 20 seconds from now.
08:31MVAC shutdown.
08:33Stage 2 FTS is safe.