Rocket Launches 🚀

How a rocket gets to orbit

1. Countdown and fueling. The rocket is filled with propellant, and the team runs final checks of weather, systems and the range. A "hold" can pause the clock at any time.
2. Liftoff. The engines must push harder than the rocket's own weight to climb off the pad.
3. Max-Q. About a minute in, the rocket passes through the moment of greatest air pressure on its body, so the engines often throttle down briefly.
4. Staging. When the first stage runs out of fuel it drops away, making the rocket lighter. Some boosters fly back and land to be reused.
5. Going sideways. Orbit isn't mostly about going up. The upper stage tips over and speeds up to about 28,000 km/h, so the spacecraft keeps falling around Earth instead of back down.
6. Payload deploy. The satellite, cargo ship or crew capsule separates and begins its own mission.