Ripley, an anthropomorphic test device fitted with sensors, is shown strapped into the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Photo credit: SpaceX
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.
At NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, the crew access arm has been extended to the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, attached atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff of the Demo-1 mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for 2:49 a.m. EST. Image credit: NASA TV
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 SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped by the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, stands on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff of the Demo-1 mission to the International Space Station is scheduled for 2:49 a.m. EST. Image credit: NASA TV
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.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is illuminated by spotlights on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
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.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen illuminated on the launch pad by spotlights at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Friday, March 1, 2019, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
NASA will use valuable information gathered from SpaceX’s uncrewed flight test, Demo-1, to certify the crew transportation systems are safe to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station in Demo-2. Both missions pair a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
In 2012, Dragon launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida and became the first commercial spacecraft in history to deliver cargo to the space station and return cargo to Earth. It has since been used for 16 commercial resupply missions for NASA. As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX developed the brand-new Crew Dragon to fly astronauts to and from the space station.
This illustration shows the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docking to the International Space Station. Image credit: SpaceX
Crew Dragon features four windows, spacious seating and an advanced emergency escape system. The fully autonomous spacecraft can be monitored and controlled by on-board astronauts and SpaceX mission control. Its environmental control system allows astronauts to set the interior temperature to between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
SpaceX’s two-stage Falcon 9 rocket has been the power behind several cargo Dragon resupply missions to the space station, as well as the transport of satellites into orbit. It features nine Merlin engines in the first stage and a single Merlin vacuum engine in the second stage. It is the first orbital class rocket capable of reflight.
Following a successful test flight on Demo-1, Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon will be used to send NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the space station for Demo-2, targeted for July 2019.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen after being raised into a vertical position on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 for Demo-1, the first flight test of the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft, is targeted for Saturday, March 2, at 2:49 a.m. EST from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On this uncrewed mission, the first under the agency’s Commercial Crew Program, the Crew Dragon will fly to the International Space Station in an end-to-end demonstration of the company’s ability to launch astronauts to the orbiting laboratory and return them home. To learn more, read the prelaunch feature story.
Join us at 2 a.m. for countdown coverage here on the blog and on NASA TV.
Mission Timeline (all times approximate) COUNTDOWN 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
LAUNCH, 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
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen after being raised into a vertical position on the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft is vertical and set for a 2:49 a.m. EST Saturday launch to the International Space Station on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be the first time in history a commercially-built and operated American crew spacecraft and rocket launches from American soil.
The Demo-1 mission, SpaceX’s inaugural flight with NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, will provide the teams an end-to-end flight test to ensure the spacecraft and systems operate as designed before launching with astronauts.
Launch coverage on NASA TV and the launch blog will begin at 2 a.m., March 2, followed at 4 a.m. by a post-launch news conference with representatives from NASA and SpaceX. The launch and post-launch news conference also will air on NASA TV.
U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing meteorologists continue to forecast an 80 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard is seen as it is rolled to the launch pad at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Demo-1 mission, Feb. 28, 2019 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft—designed to fly astronauts to the International Space Station from U.S. soil—is ready for its debut flight on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. It is a first-of-its-kind test mission of a commercially-built and operated American spacecraft and rocket designed for humans.
The Demo-1 uncrewed flight test, targeted to launch March 2, will demonstrate the company’s ability to safely launch crew to the space station and return them home.
“It’s time to fly the SpaceX Demo-1 mission,” said Steve Stich, NASA launch manager and deputy manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “This mission is an important step in returning human spaceflight to American soil. SpaceX and NASA teams are working side-by-side on this mission from start to finish as we have throughout this process. This flight test will inform the system design, operations and drive any changes that need to be made ahead of crew flights. We are ready to learn by flying.”
NASA and SpaceX are working together as public-private partnerships to build on the success of American companies already delivering cargo to the space station. Demo-1 is a critical step for NASA and SpaceX to demonstrate the ability to safely fly missions with NASA astronauts to the orbital laboratory.
The first launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket is now only two days away. Liftoff of the uncrewed flight test, called Demo-1, is targeted for 2:49 a.m. EST from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. The milestone will mark the first launch of a commercially built American rocket and spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to the International Space Station.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict an 80 percent chance of favorable weather for launch on Saturday morning, with the possibility of thick clouds or cumulus clouds posing the main concern.
NASA will broadcast a prelaunch briefing from Kennedy at 4 p.m. today. Participants are:
Kathy Lueders, manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program
Joel Montalbano, deputy manager, International Space Station Program
Hans Koenigsmann, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
Pat Forrester, chief, Astronaut Office, Johnson Space Center
Melody C. Lovin, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron
Learn more about the mission and NASA’s Commercial Crew Program in the press kit and by following the @commercial_crew on Twitter and commercial crew on Facebook.
