00:00... that second stage locks load is complete. That should be coming up momentarily.
00:07Stage two locks load complete.
00:10There's that confirmation from mission control right on schedule.
00:14So the next major visual milestone we're likely to have from the outside of the spacecraft is going to be venting...
00:20...auto idle.
00:22Confirmation there from mission control that we are in auto idle on board Dragon in that final minute and a half before launch.
00:28Now we are expecting gas closeouts to be followed by some loud venting, and we're likely to see a larger cloud of liquid oxygen.
00:36Gas closeout has started. Expect loud venting.
00:38There's instructions to the crew also right on schedule.
00:43And a great nighttime shot of Dragon sitting there at historic launch complex 39A with the AX-4 crew safely tucked inside with just over a minute to go until liftoff.
00:53Seated left to right inside Dragon. From this camera's perspective, you have Tibor Kapu there on the left-hand side.
01:01Then beside him is our pilot, Shubanshu Shukla. Then to the other side.
01:05...is armed. Valka 9 is in startup and is now controlling.
01:08...is Commander Peggy Whitson.
01:10And then on the far side is Swabosh Usnansky, Vishnevsky Avisa.
01:18Dragon SpaceX, go for launch.
01:20...AX-4 is go for launch.
01:28That is great news for Mission Control and from our crew on board Dragon.
01:32With that, we are just at T-minus 30 seconds.
01:34T-minus 30 seconds.
01:36...to liftoff of AX-4.
01:42Let's go AX-4.
01:44...Fifteen seconds.
01:53T-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
02:03Ignition and lift up.
02:06...go.
02:07For three nations, a new chapter in space takes flight.
02:16Godspeed, AX-4.
02:17Two plus 30 seconds into flight with the AX-4 crew on board Dragon headed to the International Space Station.
02:40Waiting to hear call-outs from the Falcon 9 engineering team.
02:47Power and telemetry nominal.
02:50Stage 1 throttle.
02:52We're throttling down the 9 Merlin engines.
02:55We're into the throttle bucket, preparing for Max-Q.
03:02Max-Q.
03:02Max-Q.
03:08Vehicle is supersonic.
03:09We should begin throttling the Merlin engines back up now.
03:19Stage 1 throttle up.
03:25Mission control confirming.
03:27Stage 1, bravo.
03:28That throttle up.
03:29Copy 1, bravo.
03:31Hearing our commander, Peggy Whitson, call out the first abort mode.
03:34Each of these are a specific phase where if for any reason we had an in-flight abort.
03:38Dragon would abort to a safe location.
03:42So we're going to call out each of those milestones as we pass through them.
03:45We also just heard the call out for MVAC chill.
03:48We're going to trickle just a little bit of liquid oxygen now into the turbo pumps on board our Merlin vacuum engine on stage 2.
03:55In preparation for second engine start 1, which will, of course, be shortly after stage separation.
04:03Now, at this point, we are just about 30 seconds away from four events that are going to happen in rapid succession.
04:08The first one will be main engine cutoff, or MECO, then again, followed by stage separation, ignition of that second stage engine, which we are already preparing for, as well as the first stage's boost back burn.
04:21With that confirmation from mission control that we are throttling the first stage engines down, we are expecting MECO at T plus 2 minutes and 26 seconds.
04:30Stage 1 boost back start up.
04:46There we had confirmation of all four of those events.
04:53Incredible views on our screen here, too, as that boost back, as that first stage boosts its way back to Earth.
04:59Stage 2 alpha.
05:00And confirmation from our commander that we have entered the 2 alpha abort mode.
05:06Of course, we're getting lots of cheers from behind us here at Mission Control here in Hawthorne, California, as well.
05:12And at this point, our AX-4 crew is on their way to space.
05:15The view you have on your screen right now is our MVAC engine burning for that second engine first burn.
05:22We're expecting that SECO here, second engine cutoff, which will likely be called out over the nets as SECO.
05:29In just a couple of minutes.
05:35Stage 1 boost back shutdown.
05:39Confirmation that the boost back burn on our first stage booster is now complete.
05:42And the booster is heading back toward the Florida coast to attempt a landing at LZ-1.
05:48At this point, stage 1 is actually still coasting to Apogee.
05:51We're about to deploy those grid fins so that we can steer the vehicle as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.
05:56Dragon, SpaceX, nominal trajectory.
05:59And that call out from Mission Control means that...
06:01Dragon, copy, nominal trajectory.
06:03Everything is right on track.
06:04T-plus-4 minutes, everything continuing to go well.
06:09And we've got our first view of the crew.
06:11They're inside Dragon.
06:13Second stage continuing to fire.
06:18Right now, second stage, just a little bit more than 1G.
06:22There's so much propellant that even with a 220,000-pound thrust engine,
06:26takes a while before the G-loads start to build up during the second stage flight.
06:34Meanwhile, first stage continuing to coast up to Apogee.
06:39And actually, now, as you can see on the bottom left of your monitors,
06:43we have begun coming back down.
06:46It takes a couple of minutes to go up, a couple of minutes to come back down.
06:50And that first stage heading back to landing zone 1 at Cape Canaveral.
06:53Dragon, SpaceX, nominal trajectory.
06:59Words we love to hear.
07:00Dragon, copy, nominal trajectory.
07:04Peggy Whitson echoing back the call up from the ground.
07:08Our next major event coming up will be in about a minute and 10 seconds.
07:12That's going to be the entry burn.
07:14That's where we're going to light a single center engine on the first stage.
07:19That's going to slow us down in preparation for entering the Earth's atmosphere again.
07:25We'll then have a landing burn about a minute later at T-plus, 7 minutes and 19 seconds.
07:31Now, for that one, we actually light three engines again.
07:34Then quickly, once we've kind of jammed the brakes on,
07:38then we'll turn off two of the engines.
07:40We'll be down to just a single engine.
07:42Getting good views of the MVAC-D engine.
07:46There are a couple of cameras on the back of the second stage that give these views.
07:51And, of course, the view inside the Dragon spacecraft showing the crew.
07:55Dragon, SpaceX, nominal trajectory.
07:58Continuing the call outs right on top.
08:00Dragon, copy, nominal trajectory.
08:01Now, right now, as Ronnie pointed out, the grid fins have been deployed,
08:07but they're not being used.
08:08Right before the entry burn, we'll possibly see a little bit of motion
08:13if we can pick up the first stage camera.
08:15That's just to check out.
08:17It's not until we actually get through the entry burn.
08:19Stage one entry burn startup.
08:21That we get back in the atmosphere.
08:23And now here is entry burn call out.
08:26This is going to be about a 12-second burn.
08:29That's going to slow the vehicle down.
08:31You can watch that.
08:32Stage one entry burn shutdown.
08:34There, you just saw on the left-hand side of your screen
08:37that first stage entry burn shutdown.
08:41Right now on your screen, we've got great views of our second stage
08:44and take our AX-4 crew to orbit.
08:47The next milestone for our first stage is going to be the landing burn,
08:51where we'll relight just the center engine, as John mentioned.
08:53Dragon, SpaceX, nominal trajectory.
08:56Again, things we love to hear.
08:57Stage one FTS.
08:58Dragon, copy, nominal trajectory.
09:01Continuing to get good communication from our crew on board Dragon.
09:05Stage one transonic.
09:08Confirmation that stage one is now transonic on its way back to LZ-1,
09:12which is just about nine miles away from our liftoff location today.
09:16LZ-1, of course, is the site of the first successful landing attempt.
09:19And hopefully it will be the second time that this particular booster sticks its landing.
09:29Seeing those actuating of the grid fins that John mentioned.
09:32Stage one landing, leg deploy.
09:35Stage two FTS is safe.
09:36Stage one landing, confirmed.
09:42That was a picture-perfect landing.
09:45That was great.
09:46Absolutely stunning.
09:47So coming up next for our crew, now that we've confirmed that booster touchdown
09:58is going to be second engine cutoff, also called out as CECO.
10:02Then the second stage will coast for a few minutes
10:04until Dragon is commanded to separate from the second stage.
10:07There's our AX-4 crew awaiting that CECO call-out here.
10:18Stage two is in terminal guidance.
10:27Good.
10:28Continued burn from our second stage engine there.
10:30Now, at this point, our crew is experiencing about three Gs in the lead-up to CECO-1,
10:35which, of course, will be their first taste of microgravity.
10:38Perfect.
10:38Dragon.
10:39Shannon.
10:40There's confirmation.
10:41Copy.
10:42Shannon.
10:42Of the Shannon abort mode.
10:54And that's shut down.
11:05SpaceX Dragon.
11:06We have a nominal orbit insertion.
11:11Nominal orbital insertion.
11:13SpaceX.
11:14And we had an incredible ride uphill.
11:17And now we, like, set our course for the International Space Station
11:20aboard the newest member of the Dragon fleet, our spacecraft named Grace.
11:26Grace is more than a name.
11:27It reflects the elegance with which we move through space against the backdrop of Earth.
11:31It speaks to the refinement of our mission, the harmony of science and spirit,
11:36and the unmerited favor we carry with humility.
11:40Grace reminds us that spaceflight is not just a feat of engineering,
