T-0 Liftoff
Clock zero · Clock
Hold-down clamps release after the engines pass health checks. Mission time starts here. Everything before is T-minus.
Glossary
This is for every space enthusiast, for dreamers and learners. Ad astra.
Learn the calls you hear on the webcast. Times on the rail are a nominal Falcon 9 / Starlink flight.
T-0Liftoff
T+1:14Max-Q
T+2:33MECO
T+2:44SES-1
~T+3Fairing
T+8:24Landing
T+8:49SECO
laterDeploy
T+ Mission elapsed
After liftoff · Clock
Seconds after T-0. Webcast calls (Max-Q, MECO) are given as T+ times.
NET No Earlier Than
Schedule · Clock
Earliest possible launch instant. Weather, range, and hardware can still slip it.
Window Launch window
Schedule · Clock
The interval when the vehicle may lift off. Crew windows are often minutes wide; some Starlink windows last hours.
Go Go for launch
Prelaunch · Status
Teams and the range have cleared the attempt. A last-second abort or weather scrub can still stop it.
TBC To Be Confirmed
Prelaunch · Status
The date is on the book, but the time or a license (often FAA for Starship) is not locked.
TBD To Be Determined
Prelaunch · Status
On the manifest, but the day is still a placeholder.
Hold Count hold
T-minus · Status
The clock is paused. Built-in holds recycle; unplanned holds mean a problem is being worked.
Scrub No-go today
Prelaunch · Status
The attempt is called off. Teams recycle to the next window or backup day.
Max-Q Max dynamic pressure
~T+1:10 · Ascent
Peak aerodynamic load. Engines may throttle down through it, then throttle back up.
MECO Main Engine Cutoff
~T+2:30 · Ascent
All nine first-stage Merlins shut down. Seconds later the stages separate.
Stage sep Staging
~T+2:35 · Ascent
Pushers split first and second stage. The booster flips; the upper stage is now the stack.
SES Second-stage start
~T+2:40 · Ascent
The vacuum Merlin on stage 2 lights. SES-1 is the long ascent burn. SES-2 is a later circularization burn.
Fairing Payload fairing
~T+3:00 · Ascent
The two nose halves open once the air is thin. Crew Dragon has no fairing — it is the nose.
SECO Second-stage cutoff
~T+8:30 · Ascent
Stage 2 shuts down after the parking orbit (SECO-1). SECO-2 follows a restart burn when used.
Deploy Payload separation
After SECO · Ascent
Satellites or Dragon leave the second stage. Starlink often releases a stack.
Boostback Boostback burn
After staging · Recovery
First-stage engines relight to send the booster toward the landing zone. Most droneship flights skip this.
Entry burn Re-entry burn
~T+6–7 min · Recovery
A three-engine burn that slows the booster before the atmosphere gets dense.
Landing burn Final burn
~T+8 min · Recovery
A single-engine burn that cancels remaining speed for touchdown on a droneship or landing zone.
RTLS Return to launch site
Recovery · Recovery
The booster flies back to a concrete landing zone next to the pad. Needs a boostback.
ASDS Drone ship
Recovery · Recovery
Ocean barge landing. Names: Of Course I Still Love You, Just Read the Instructions, A Shortfall of Gravitas.
Falcon 9 F9 Block 5
Workhorse · Vehicles
Two-stage rocket. Nine Merlin engines on stage 1, one vacuum Merlin on stage 2.
Falcon Heavy FH
Heavy lift · Vehicles
Three Falcon cores. Side boosters usually return to land; the center core often lands downrange or is expended.
Dragon Crew / Cargo
Spacecraft · Vehicles
Crew Dragon carries people to the station. Cargo Dragon hauls freight and returns experiments.
Starship Ship + Super Heavy
Next gen · Vehicles
Fully reusable two-stage system. Super Heavy is the booster. Starship is the ship.
Hot staging Hot sep
Staging · Starship
Ship engines light while still attached to the booster, then the stack separates.
Raptor Methalox engine
Engines · Starship
Methane and oxygen engines on Super Heavy and Starship. Raptor 3 flies on V3 vehicles.
Heat shield Tiles
Re-entry · Starship
Ceramic tiles on the windward side of the ship. The webcast tracks tile health during the flip.
Docking Station arrival
After orbit · Crew
Dragon autonomously docks to a port on Harmony. Approach coverage is on NASA TV hours after launch.
Splashdown Recovery
End of mission · Crew
Dragon lands in the ocean under four main parachutes.
LEO Low Earth orbit
Destination · Orbits
Roughly 200–1,200 km. Starlink, Crew, and most Falcon missions go here.
SSO Sun-synchronous
Destination · Orbits
A polar-ish orbit that keeps the same local sun time. Transporter flights from Vandenberg often target it.
GTO Transfer orbit
Destination · Orbits
A highly elliptical path used to reach geostationary altitude. Stage 2 is often expended.
SLC-40 Cape Canaveral
Florida · Sites
Workhorse Falcon 9 pad. Crew-13 is booked here.
LC-39A Kennedy
Florida · Sites
Historic Saturn and Shuttle pad. Falcon Heavy and some crew flights.
SLC-4E Vandenberg
California · Sites
West Coast pad for polar and sun-synchronous trajectories.
Starbase Pad 2
Texas · Sites
Starship orbital launch site at Boca Chica. Flight 14 targets Pad 2.
FAA License
Regulatory · Sites
U.S. regulator that licenses commercial launches. Starship attempts often wait on a license update.
Quiz
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Calendar
Falcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A
Oct 5, 2026, 8:17 AM UTC
Falcon 9 · Space Launch Complex 4E · Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Tranche 1 Transport Layer A is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 15-25
Oct 10, 2026, 11:00 PM UTC
Falcon 9 · Space Launch Complex 4E · Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Dragon CRS-2 SpX-35
Oct 13, 2026, 10:33 AM UTC
Falcon 9 · Space Launch Complex 40 · Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
35th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Bandwagon 5 (Dedicated Mid-Inclination Rideshare)
Oct 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
Falcon 9 · Space Launch Complex 40 · Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Dedicated rideshare flight to a mid-inclination orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Cygnus CRS-2 NG-25
Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
Falcon 9 · Space Launch Complex 40 · Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
This is the 25th flight of the Orbital ATK's uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its 24th flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contr
Falcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 2 Transport Layer D
Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
Falcon 9 · Unknown Pad · Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Classified mission launched by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for Tranche 2 Transport Layer.
Falcon 9 Block 5 | SDA Tranche 2 Transport Layer E
Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
Falcon 9 · Space Launch Complex 4E · Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Classified mission launched by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for Tranche 2 Transport Layer.
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Telesat Lightspeed 1
Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
Falcon 9 · Unknown Pad · Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Up to 18 satellites manufactured by MDA for Canadian satellite operator Telesat's Lightspeed constellation.
Falcon Heavy | Griffin Mission One
Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
Falcon Heavy · Launch Complex 39A · Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Demonstration flight of the Astrobotic Griffin lander and its engines, initially contracted for the cancelled NASA VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission.
Falcon 9 Block 5 | CHORUS
Dec 31, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
Falcon 9 · Unknown Pad · Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
CHORUS is MDA's next generation Earth observation constellation, consisting of 2 radar satellites (C-band SAR and X-band SAR), in a 53.5 degree 600 km altitude LEO, with the X-band
Watch
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Recent official posts, plus live search for each mission.
SpaceX @SpaceX · 24 Sep 2026
Launch rehearsal complete ahead of Starship Flight 14
20.1k likes · 2.0M views
SpaceX @SpaceX · 25 Sep 2026
Dragon arrives at pad 40 ahead of the upcoming Crew-13 launch
8.3k likes · 909k views
SpaceX @SpaceX · 23 Sep 2026
Sunrise at Starbase. Flight 14 on track for Monday, Sept. 28, pending regulatory approval
15.9k likes · 3.1M views
SpaceX @SpaceX · 23 Sep 2026
Stacking Starship ahead of Flight 14
19.1k likes · 1.6M views
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Capcom
Nominal phase calls, not live telemetry. Narration is Rex, a deep male voice — not a recording of a real person.
Current call
LIFTOFF
Clamps released. Nine Merlins at full thrust. Vehicle is off the pad.
T+00:00 · LIFTOFF
Clamps released. Nine Merlins at full thrust. Vehicle is off the pad.
T+01:14 · MAX-Q
Maximum aerodynamic pressure. Vehicle has passed Max-Q.
T+02:33 · MECO
Main engine cutoff. First stage engines are out.
T+02:36 · STAGE SEP
Stages have separated. Booster is flipping for the droneship.
T+02:44 · SES-1
Second-stage vacuum engine is up and burning.
T+03:05 · FAIRING
Payload fairing halves are away. The Starlink stack is exposed.
T+06:41 · ENTRY BURN
Booster entry burn. Three engines slowing the core.
T+08:24 · LANDING
Landing burn. Touchdown on the droneship — expected, not confirmed.
T+08:49 · SECO-1
Second-stage cutoff. Parking orbit. Coast begins.
T+15:00 · DEPLOY
Nominal deploy window opening. Watch the webcast for confirmation.