Nasa SpaceX launch live news: four crew lift off onboard Dragon capsule

7.49pm EST19:49

This is one for the Australian earthlings (an Opal card is a Metro or Subway card):

Anton Posa
(@antonposa)

It’s an Opal Card. You have to tap on to enter a different orbit, I believe.

November 16, 2020

7.42pm EST19:42

Separation confirmed

Dragon is now separated from Stage 2.

The second stage will burn up upon re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.

7.41pm EST19:41

Nominal orbit insertion

Stage 1 has touched down on the drone ship in the Atlantic.

Second-stage engine shut down has just happened on Stage 2.

Stage 2 has entered nominal orbit.

The crew inside Dragon 2 is now “coasting” in orbit, flying at 27,000km/h

Here they are:

7.37pm EST19:37

What is nominal trajectory?

Essentially, this means the spacecraft is travelling exactly as it should, or, according to the Federal Aviation Administration: “if all vehicle aerodynamic parameters are exactly as expected, if all vehicle internal and external systems perform exactly as planned, and there are no external perturbing influences (e.g. winds) other than atmospheric drag.”