3

2

1, ignition.

And lift off. Go, Falcon. Go,

BFR.

Vehicle pitching down range.

Inlet and chamber pressures are nominal.

>> At T plus 30 seconds into flight, Falcon

9 has successfully lifted off from space

launch complex 40 at Cape Canaveral

Space Force Station in Florida. We're

currently throttling down to prepare for

max Q, which is the point of maximum

aerodynamic stress on the vehicle.

Max Q

>> Telemetry is phenomenal.

>> Max Q occurs in the lower atmosphere,

where there's still enough air to create

significant resistance against the

rocket. This is when the pressure

pushing against the rocket is at its

highest point, and it's a key

>> and it's a key test of the vehicle's

structural integrity.

After max Q, the rocket continues to

accelerate, but the air becomes thinner,

reducing the stress on the vehicle as it

climbs through the upper layers of the

atmosphere.

>> Max Q

>> And there's the call out for max Q.

Merlin engines are back at full power

now that we're out of the throttle

bucket. And from here on, even though

velocity is rapidly increasing, the

atmospheric density is decreasing,

resulting in less loads on Falcon 9.

Now we have several events

>> chill.

>> coming up in quick succession, starting

with MECO, followed by stage separation,

and second engine start or SES-1.

Main engine cutoff or MECO is where all

nine Merlin 1D engines shut down to slow

the vehicle down in preparation for

stage separation, where the first stage

separates from the second stage.

Then the MVAC engine on the second stage

will light, which is called out as

second engine start one or SES-1.

This engine burn, lasting several

minutes, will propel the second stage

and our payloads to orbit.

After that, the fairing will jettison

from the second stage as it's no longer

needed to protect the payloads once

we're in space.

We should be hearing the first of these

callouts in just about 10 seconds from

now.

>> Main engine cutoff.

Stage separation confirmed.

MVAC startup.

>> And we had confirmation of those three

events that happened back-to-back. Main

engine cutoff, stage separation, and

second engine start one. Coming up next

will be fairing separation.

Again, we jettison the payload fairing

halves now that they're no longer needed

in the vacuum of space and we'll attempt

to retrieve them once they fall back to

Earth.

>> Fairing separation confirmed.

>> And there we just heard confirmation of

fairing separation.

They'll make their way back to Earth for

recovery.

The next major milestone coming up is

the entry burn on our Falcon 9 first

stage, which is scheduled to occur at

the T plus 6 minute and 25 second mark.

The entry burn is used to slow the first

stage as it heads towards our drone

ship, A Shortfall of Gravitas, located

in the Atlantic Ocean.

The booster engine graphic on the lower

left-hand corner of the screen displays

the arrangement of the nine M1D engines

with the outer ring of eight and the

center ninth engine. And these are held

in place on the vehicle by a structure

called the Octaweb.

The entry burn is similar to pumping the

brakes to slow down the vehicle as it

passes back into the Earth's atmosphere.

And we need to slow down to reduce

re-entry forces, which then helps us

recover and reuse the first stage.

Then shortly after entry burn, the

booster will initiate the landing burn,

which will slow the vehicle down before

touching down on our drone ship.

We're still more than a minute away from

the beginning of the entry burn.

So that first stage is not only using

the Merlin engines for the re-entry and

landing process, it also uses its

titanium grid fins and nitrogen gas

thrusters for stability and control.

While the views aren't the greatest

right now, from time to time you might

spy spot those white puffs coming from

Falcon 9, and those are the cold

nitrogen gas bursts, which help with

attitude control.

So we're still coming up on the entry

burn. We should expect that within the

next 20 seconds.

>> Stage one FTS is safe.

Stage one entry burn startup.

>> There's the call out for the entry burn

startup on the Falcon 9 first stage.

This burn will last about 25 seconds and

again is slowing the vehicle down in

preparation for its final burn and

landing.

>> Stage one entry burn shutdown.

>> And that concludes the booster's entry

burn. And as mentioned earlier, we will

be attempting to recover this booster

with our drone ship A Shortfall of

Gravitas currently stationed in the

Atlantic Ocean.

And now the next milestone coming up in

about a minute will be the stage one

landing burn.

You can follow along with the burn via

the engine graphic at the bottom left of

your screen. And as the burn happens,

you'll notice a drastic decrease in the

speed and altitude of the vehicle.

Coming up shortly, we'll have the start

of the landing burn for the first stage.

>> Stage one transonic.

>> The landing burn is the final burn of

the Falcon 9 booster used to reduce the

remaining speed of the vehicle for a

gentle and precise landing.

>> Stage two terminal guidance.

>> And as Falcon 9 descends towards the

drone ship, keep an eye out for the

first stage landing leg deploy just

prior to touching down.

>> Stage two FTS is safe.

>> Stage one landing burn.

>> There's the call out for the landing

burn startup on the Falcon 9 first

stage. Again, this is the final burn

that this booster will execute leading

up to landing.

>> Stage one landing leg deploy.

IM back shut down.

Stage one landing confirmed.

>> As you saw and heard, that was a

successful

>> nominal orbit insertion.

>> first stage landing of our Falcon 9

booster. As a reminder, this booster

flew for its 29th time.

And now while the booster has completed

its part of the mission, our first of

three payload deployments is expected at

T plus 53 minutes.

And before that, the MVAC engine on the

second stage will execute a second burn

starting at T plus 46 minutes.

And we just heard earlier the call out

for the shutdown of the MVAC engine on

the second stage, which was the

completion of the first of those two

burns.

And if you're just joining us, this is

the live coverage of the Bluebird 8 to

10 mission for AST SpaceMobile.

>> Bluebird Block 2 BB8 separation

confirmed.

All payloads successfully confirmed.

>> And there we have the final Bluebird

satellite for today's mission separating

from the second stage. And that'll bring

us to the end of our live mission

coverage.

We would like to thank AST SpaceMobile

for entrusting us with their satellites

today. And we'd also like to thank the

FAA and the Eastern Range for their

support of today's mission.

Be sure to check out spacex.com/unches

for the most up-to-date information on

upcoming launches, and follow us on

SpaceX on X. And we'll see you next

time.