Altitude
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Velocity (Relative)
0 km/h
Dynamic Pressure (q)
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Apoapsis / Periapsis
0 / -6371 km
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launches national defense architectures like the Space Development Agency (SDA) Tranche 1 Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) into high-inclination low-Earth orbits (~950 km). To reach orbit efficiently without burning excessive propellant, the booster does not fly straight up; it executes a continuous gravity turn that transforms vertical velocity into orbital tangential velocity.
Shortly after clearing the tower (~1.2 km altitude), the flight computer initiates a minor pitch kick. From then on, Earth's gravitational vector naturally arches the rocket toward horizontal velocity, minimizing steering losses while slicing through the atmosphere with zero angle of attack.
Aerodynamic resistance peaks around T+1:12 at 11–14 km altitude. Falcon 9 throttles its nine Merlin 1D engines down to ~70–75% thrust to alleviate mechanical stress on the airframe before throttling back to 100% as the air thins out into the upper stratosphere.
At T+2:28, Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) occurs at ~65 km and 8,200 km/h. Pneumatic pushers separate Stage 1, while the vacuum Merlin (MVacD) ignites seconds later (SES-1) delivering 981 kN of thrust with an expansion ratio of 165:1 optimized for vacuum velocity insertion.