Weather Looking Good for March 2 Launch Attempt

NASA and SpaceX teams just concluded a weather briefing with the decision to proceed with launch countdown. Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for Crew-6 launch, with the flight through precipitation rule serving as the primary weather concern. Conditions along the Dragon ascent corridor are within acceptable limits, but will remain a watch item throughout the launch countdown.

Crew-6 will carry two NASA astronauts – Mission Commander Stephen Bowen and Pilot Warren Hoburg – along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who join as mission specialists, to the International Space Station. Liftoff is targeted for 12:34 a.m. EST March 2, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A.

The crew is scheduled for a long-duration stay of about six months aboard the space station conducting science and maintenance before returning to Earth.

Stay with us as the countdown continues; we’ll keep you updated on the key milestones throughout this important mission. Watch NASA’s live broadcast on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA, SpaceX Move Forward with March 2 Launch to Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Dragon spacecraft on top is seen at sunset on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-6 mission, Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 mission is ‘Go’ for launch to the International Space Station following completion of a launch readiness review, weather briefing, and mission management meeting on Feb. 28. Launch is targeted at 12:34 a.m. EST Thursday, March 2, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Mission teams stood down from a Feb. 27 launch attempt to review an unusual data signature related to confirming a proper bleed in of pad supplied fluid known as triethylaluminum triethylboron (TEA-TEB). TEA-TEB is an ignition fluid used to start the Falcon 9’s nine first stage kerosene/liquid oxygen Merlin engines. The bleed-in process ensures there is an adequate supply of this fluid at each engine to mix with liquid oxygen to start the engines. During prelaunch, the TEA-TEB fluid – which originates in a ground supply tank – flows to the rocket’s interface and back to a catch tank to remove gas from the ground plumbing. During engine start, the fluid then flows to the engines for ignition. Flow into the catch tank is one of several parameters used to determine that the fluid has been properly bled into the system.

After a thorough review of the data and ground system, NASA and SpaceX determined there was a reduced flow back to the ground TEA-TEB catch tank due to a clogged ground filter. This clogged filter fully-explained the signature observed on the launch attempt. SpaceX teams replaced the filter, purged the TEA-TEB line with nitrogen, and verified the lines are clean and ready for launch.

Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for Crew-6 launch, with the flight through precipitation rule serving as the primary weather concern. Conditions along the Dragon ascent corridor are within acceptable limits, but will remain a watch item for Thursday’s attempt.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen, mission commander, and Warren Hoburg, pilot, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who join as mission specialists, will travel to the space station for a science expedition mission. The international crew will fly aboard the Dragon spacecraft named Endeavour, which previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2, and Axiom Mission 1 astronauts.

After an approximate 24.5-hour transit, the crew will dock to the space-facing port of the microgravity laboratory’s Harmony module about 1:17 a.m. Friday, March 3. Hatch opening is targeted for approximately 3:27 a.m., followed by the welcome ceremony about 3:40 a.m. Arrival coverage on NASA TV and the agency’s website begins Thursday, March 2, at 11:30 p.m.

Starting at 9 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, tune in to a Crew-6 live launch broadcast on NASA TV or the agency’s website and follow along through countdown and other key mission milestones. More details about the mission can be found in the press kit online and by following the Crew-6 blog, @commercial_crew on Twitter, and commercial crew on Facebook.

 

Launch Readiness Review Concludes, NASA Administrator Briefing Set for 9 a.m. EDT

On Tuesday, April 26, teams with NASA and SpaceX completed the final major review – the Launch Readiness Review (LRR) – for the agency’s Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station. At the conclusion of the review, the team confirmed the target launch time of 3:52 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 27, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 mission coverage is as follows for Tuesday, April 26 (all times Eastern):

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Dragon spacecraft on launch pad
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Crew-4 mission, Saturday, April 23, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

7 a.m. (approximately) – Prelaunch news teleconference at Kennedy with the following participants:

  • Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, NASA Kennedy
  • Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson
  • Zeb Scoville, chief flight director, Flight Operations Directorate, NASA Johnson
  • Jessica Jensen, vice president, customer operations and integration, SpaceX
  • Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA
  • Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron

9 a.m. – NASA administrator media briefing on NASA TV with the following participants:

  • Bill Nelson, NASA administrator
  • Bob Cabana, NASA associate administrator
  • Kathryn Lueders, associate administrator, Space Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington
  • Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA
  • Heidi Parris, associate program scientist for the International Space Station Program, NASA Johnson

The Crew-4 flight will carry NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, and Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti to the International Space Station for science expedition mission to the microgravity laboratory. Crew-4 is the fourth crew rotation mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Weather officials with the U.S. Space Force 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions at the launch pad for liftoff of the Crew-4 mission based on Falcon 9 Crew Dragon launch weather criteria. The primary weather concerns for the launch area are the cumulus cloud and flight through precipitation rules. Teams will also monitor weather conditions both for the launch area and downrange for the flight of Crew Dragon.

More details about the mission and NASA’s commercial crew program can be found by following the commercial crew blog, @commercial_crew on Twitter, and commercial crew on Facebook.