Orbital Ascent Trajectory Simulator | SLC-4E Launch Dynamics

Mission Profile Vandenberg South Azimuth

Target Orbital Insertion

Gravity Turn Pitch Kick Altitude 1.2 km

Initial atmospheric tilt angle initiating orbital turn

Stage 1 Burn Cutoff (MECO) 158 s

First stage propellant depletion & staging

Payload Mass 4,800 kg

Falcon 9 Two-Stage Architecture

Stage 1 Propellant: 418,000 kg LOX/RP-1

Stage 1 Thrust (Sea Lvl): 7,607 kN (9× Merlin 1D)

Stage 2 Propellant: 107,500 kg LOX/RP-1

Stage 2 Thrust (Vac): 981 kN (1× MVacD)

Total Liftoff Mass: 549,300 kg

Flight Telemetry Export

Export full trajectory state vectors, acceleration, aerodynamic pressure, and orbital energy data.

T+ 00:00.0 | PHASE: PAD IDLE

MACH: 0.00 | MAX-Q: 0.0 kPa

ALT: 0.0 km | DOWNRANGE: 0.0 km

● T-0s Ignition

Liftoff (SLC-4E)

Mach 1 Transonic

Max-Q (Dynamic Pressure)

MECO & Separation

SES-1 Stage 2 Burn

Fairing Jettison

SECO-1 Orbit Insertion

Inertial Velocity 0 m/s Target: ~7,600 m/s

Altitude 0.0 km Pad Elevation: 110 m

Flight Path Angle 90.0° Pitch from horizon

Apoapsis (Ap) 0 km Target Ap: 550 km

Periapsis (Pe) -6,371 km Target Pe: 550 km

Total Delta-V Expended 0 m/s Gravity Loss: 0 m/s

Ready on California Space Launch Complex 4E. Flight computers initialized. TELEMETRY: NOMINAL

Vandenberg SLC-4E Polar Trajectory

Launches from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base fly south across the Pacific Ocean, enabling high-inclination polar and Sun-Synchronous Orbits (SSO) without overflying populated land. The gravity turn tilts the thrust vector to balance gravitational potential energy losses against aerodynamic drag.

Ascent Equations & Gravity Turn Dynamics

The vehicle ascends vertically through dense lower atmosphere before initiating a programmed pitch kick at ~1.2 km. Aerodynamic pressure scales with density ρ = ρ₀ e^-h/H and velocity squared: q = ½ρv². Once out of the thick atmosphere, continuous pitch-down aligns thrust tangentially to reach orbital velocity (v_circ = √(GM/r) ≈ 7.6 km/s).