0.0s
Ascent Milestones & Max-Q
Max-Q: 32.4 kPa at T+68s (12.4 km) | MECO: T+162s at 68.2 km, 2,120 m/s
Orbital Insertion Solution
Target: 540 × 550 km Polar Orbit (Inclination 97.4°). Insertion Δv remaining: 0 m/s.
Max-Q: 32.4 kPa at T+68s (12.4 km) | MECO: T+162s at 68.2 km, 2,120 m/s
Target: 540 × 550 km Polar Orbit (Inclination 97.4°). Insertion Δv remaining: 0 m/s.
Vandenberg Space Force Base in California sits on a south-facing coastline. Rockets launching southward fly directly over the open Pacific Ocean, enabling polar orbits (90°) and Sun-Synchronous Orbits (97°-98°) without flying over populated land. Cape Canaveral launches east to harvest Earth's maximum rotational speed (~408 m/s at 28.5° N).
Spherical trigonometry dictates the inertial launch heading:
cos(β) = cos(i) / cos(φ), where i is orbital inclination and φ is launch pad latitude. For retrograde SSO (97.4°) from Vandenberg (34.63° N), the rocket must launch slightly southwest (azimuth ~188.6°), expending extra fuel to counter Earth's eastward spin.
The numerical integrator computes continuous 2D flight dynamics using real Falcon 9 parameters: Stage 1 sea-level thrust (7,607 kN), vacuum thrust (8,227 kN), Stage 2 vacuum thrust (981 kN), exponential barometric density ρ = ρ0 * exp(-h/H), supersonic drag divergence, gravity turn vectoring, and spherical Earth gravity g(r) = GM / r².