#spx9

Flight profile for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket when it lands at Landing Zone 1.  The first stage’s nine Merlin 1D engines will shut down at T+ 2:24, and the second stage will ignite at T+2:32.  While the second stage propels Dragon and its cargo into low Earth orbit, the first stage will perform its boostback burn at T+ 2:42. This cancels the rocket’s downrange motion and propels it back towards the Florida coastline. In order to safely reenter the thicker portion of Earth’s atmosphere, a boostback burn will begin T+ 6:31. The rocket will be about 45 miles above the Earth. 

In a rare freak of scheduling, members of the news media got to witness an operation SpaceX usually does not allow viewing of - the erection of a Falcon 9 rocket on SLC-40. SpaceX integrates their rockets in the Horizontal Integration Facility at SLC-40, and then rolls the vehicle to the pad via a Transporter/Erector. The T/E, also known as a strongback, then raises the rocket to vertical.