Month: March 2019

SpaceX’s Demo-1 uncrewed flight test of its Crew Dragon spacecraft, targeted to lift off at 2:49 a.m. atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will be the first launch for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. A successful Demo-1 flight test will pave the way for SpaceX’s Demo-2 flight test with two NASA astronauts onboard, targeted for July 2019. Demo-1 will mark Crew Dragon’s first flight to the International Space Station.

NASA has partnered with Boeing and SpaceX to return human spaceflight launches to the space station from U.S. soil, a feat that has not been accomplished since STS-135 — the final mission of the Space Shuttle Program — in July 2011.

Veteran astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are crewmates for Demo-2 and have trained extensively for the mission. Both have been intimately involved in Crew Dragon’s development, providing feedback and helping SpaceX check out crew interfaces at every phase of testing.

A colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Behnken is a veteran of two space shuttle missions — STS-123 in March 2008 and STS-130 in February 2010. He has logged more than 708 hours in space, including more than 37 hours on six spacewalks. Hurley piloted space shuttle missions STS-127 in July 2009 and STS-135 in July 2011. The retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel has logged more than 680 hours in space.

Behnken and Hurley are here at Kennedy this morning to see the historic liftoff of Demo-1 liftoff.

Data from Demo-1 will help NASA confirm that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 systems can safely carry crew to the space station and return them home.

NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is poised to return America’s capability to launch U.S. astronauts from our nation’s soil to the International Space Station.

Launch preparations continue at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, where a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft await liftoff at 2:49 a.m. EST on the company’s Demo-1 mission to the International Space Station.

Propellant loading operations are beginning. RP-1, a rocket-grade kerosene, is pumped into both of the Falcon 9 rocket’s stages while the first stage is loaded with liquid oxygen (LOX). Second-stage LOX loading begins later, about 16 minutes prior to liftoff.

There are no people flying on the SpaceX Crew Dragon for Demo-1. After all, the mission’s primary objective is to perform an end-to-end demonstration of this new crew transportation system before astronauts climb aboard.

But the Crew Dragon isn’t empty, either. Ripley, an anthropomorphic test device, is a special “passenger” fitted with sensors around the head, neck and spine to record everything an astronaut would experience throughout the mission, such as the forces, acceleration, protection offered by Crew Dragon’s seats, and overall environment.

When the Demo-1 mission is complete, SpaceX will collect Ripley’s sensor data—valuable information that will help verify that Crew Dragon will provide astronauts a safe, comfortable and enjoyable ride to space.

SpaceX is working no issues and teams are “go” to start propellant loading operations at T-35 minutes minutes. Earlier, Crew Dragon operators checked out the spacecraft’s flight systems and it, too, is ready for launch.

In case you missed it, here’s a look at today’s planned timeline of countdown and ascent milestones:

Countdown and Liftoff
Min/Sec—Events
-45:00—SpaceX Launch Director verifies “go” for propellant load
-37:00—Dragon launch escape system is armed
-35:00—RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
-35:00—First stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
-16:00—Second stage LOX loading begins
-07:00—Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch
-05:00—Dragon transitions to internal power
-01:00—Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
-01:00—Propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins
-00:45—SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
-00:03—Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
-00:00—Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft

Ascent, First Stage Landing and Dragon Deployment
Min/Sec—Events
00:58—Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
02:35—First stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
02:38—First and second stages separate
02:42—Second stage engine starts
07:48—First stage entry burn
08:59—Second stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
09:24—First stage landing burn
09:52—First stage landing
11:00—Dragon separates from second stage

SpaceX will attempt to land the Falcon 9 first stage on its autonomous drone ship, “Of Course I Still Love You,” which is waiting offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.

The countdown is on at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the first flight of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft awaits liftoff on its debut flight aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. On this uncrewed flight test, called Demo-1, Crew Dragon is embarking on a mission to the International Space Station as a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Launch is targeted for 2:49 a.m. EST from historic Launch Complex 39A. Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predict an 80 percent chance of favorable weather.

Demo-1 is the first flight of a commercially built and operated spacecraft designed to fly astronauts to the space station from U.S. soil. The mission will put SpaceX’s Crew Dragon through its paces, ensuring all the spacecraft’s systems work as expected and ultimately demonstrating its ability to safely launch astronauts to the station and return them home.

There are no people flying on the Crew Dragon this morning, but every step of the mission to come will be carried out as if astronauts were on board. Instead, a passenger named “Ripley”—an anthropomorphic test device—is strapped in for flight. Loaded with sensors, Ripley will gather valuable data about what an astronaut would experience on this mission. The Crew Dragon also is carrying about 400 pounds of crew supplies and equipment.

This morning’s launch is a cross-country effort. SpaceX’s launch team is commanding the countdown from Firing Room 4 in Kennedy’s Launch Control Center, then will transfer control to the company’s mission control center in Hawthorne, California. Meanwhile, NASA teams at Kennedy and the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston are monitoring today’s activities.

Join us at 2 a.m. for updates from the countdown as NASA and commercial crew partner SpaceX prepare for liftoff of the company’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft on the uncrewed Demo-1 flight test to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for 2:49 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.