June 2023 – Page 2 – NASA's SpaceX CRS-28 Commercial Resupply Mission

SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon Spacecraft Ready for Today’s Launch

The iconic countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is photographed ahead of SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for the agency on June 5, 2023. — The iconic countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is photographed during the launch countdown of SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply services mission for the agency on June 5, 2023. Photo credit: NASA

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon spacecraft atop, stands ready for liftoff at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. The instantaneous launch is scheduled for 11:47 a.m. EDT today, June 5, and meteorologists with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron continue to predict a 70% chance of favorable weather conditions for liftoff.

Standing vertically on the launch pad, Dragon is packed with more than 7,000 pounds of science, equipment, and supplies bound for the International Space Station.

Beginning at 11:15 a.m., tune in to NASA Television, the NASA app, or the agency’s website for live launch countdown coverage, or follow along right here on the blog as we take you through all of the major milestones leading up to and after liftoff.

Here’s a full look at today’s countdown and ascent milestones. All times are approximate:

COUNTDOWN 
Hr/Min/Sec        Event
– 00:38:00             SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
– 00:35:00             RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
– 00:35:00             1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
– 00:16:00             2nd stage LOX loading begins
– 00:07:00             Falcon 9 begins pre-launch engine chill
– 00:05:00             Dragon transitions to internal power
– 00:01:00             Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
– 00:01:00             Propellant tanks pressurize for flight
– 00:00:45             SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
– 00:00:03             Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
– 00:00:00             Falcon 9 liftoff 

LAUNCH, LANDING, AND DRAGON DEPLOYMENT
Hr/Min/Sec        Event
00:01:12               Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:31               1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:34               1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:41               2nd stage engine starts
00:06:46               1st stage entry burn begins
00:08:50               2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO)
00:08:51               1st stage landing
00:12:05                Dragon separates from 2nd stage
00:12:53               Dragon nosecone open sequence begins

NASA, SpaceX Prep for 28th Commercial Resupply Services Mission

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is prepared for launch atop the Falcon 9 rocket with the access arm extended on the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 2, 2023. Photo credit: SpaceX

Hello and happy Monday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida! After standing down yesterday due to high winds in the recovery area, NASA and SpaceX make another attempt at launching the company’s 28th cargo resupply mission for the agency today, June 5. Weather looks good, and meteorologists with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 70% chance of favorable weather conditions for liftoff, with primary concerns being the cumulus cloud rule, flight through precipitation, and liftoff winds.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand ready for liftoff at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. The instantaneous launch window is at 11:47 a.m. EDT, just over two hours away. Live coverage begins at 11:15 a.m. – watch on NASA Television or the agency’s website, or get live updates here on the blog.

Follow the mission on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and let people know by using the hashtags #Dragon and #CRS28. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:

Twitter: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, @ISS_Research, @ISS National Lab
Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab

Stay right here for more coverage of today’s launch!

NASA and SpaceX Now Targeting Monday for Launch

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft atop stands vertical on the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 4, 2023. Photo credit: NASA

Due to high winds in the recovery area, NASA and SpaceX are now targeting Monday, June 5, for the 28th commercial resupply services mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Live coverage on NASA Television will begin at 11:15 a.m. EDT, with launch targeted for 11:47 a.m.

Meteorologists with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 60% chance of favorable weather conditions for liftoff. Primary weather concerns include flight through participation, the cumulus cloud rule, and liftoff winds.

Welcome to Launch Day Coverage of SpaceX’s 28th Resupply Services Mission for NASA

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon spacecraft atop, stands ready for liftoff at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on June 4, 2023, ahead of the company’s 28th resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 12:12 p.m. EDT. Photo credit: NASA

Good morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida! A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand ready for liftoff at Kennedy’s historic Launch Complex 39A.

Today’s launch is targeted for 12:12 p.m. EDT, just over two hours away. It is an instantaneous launch window. Live commentary begins at 11:45 a.m. – watch on NASA Television or the agency’s website, or follow along here on the blog.

The eighth flight for SpaceX under NASA’s second Commercial Resupply Services Contract, and the company’s 28th overall cargo resupply mission, this mission will deliver more than 7,000 pounds of science experiments and research, crew supplies, and hardware to the International Space Station.

To stay updated on all station activities, follow @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts. Or follow along with the station blog at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/.

Weather 40% Favorable for SpaceX’s 28th Cargo Resupply Launch

NASA and SpaceX are now targeting Sunday, June 4, for launch of the 28th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for liftoff, scheduled for 12:12 p.m. EDT. The primary weather concerns are the cumulus cloud rule, flight through participation, and surface electric fields rule.

Packed with more than 7,000 pounds of cargo, SpaceX’s Dragon will deliver new science investigations, food, supplies, and equipment for the international crew, including the next pair of IROSAs (International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays). Arrival to the station is scheduled for 5:50 a.m. Tuesday, June 6. The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the station’s zenith port of the Harmony module.

SpaceX’s Dragon is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

Launch Now Slated for Sunday

NASA and SpaceX are now targeting Sunday, June 4, for the CRS-28 mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center to allow more time for vehicle preparations and for weather conditions to improve. Launch is slated for 12:12 p.m. EDT.

Prelaunch News Teleconference Begins Soon for SpaceX’s 28th Cargo Resupply Launch

A close-up view of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop the Falcon 9 rocket on the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 2, 2023. SpaceX is scheduled to launch its 28th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for NASA. — A close-up view of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop the Falcon 9 rocket on the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 2, 2023. Photo credit: SpaceX

Teams with NASA and SpaceX completed the final major review before launch – the Launch Readiness Review – for the company’s 28th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. At the conclusion of the review, teams confirmed the target launch time of 12:35 p.m. tomorrow, June 3. Tune in to the agency’s website at 4 p.m. today, Friday, June 2, to hear from NASA and SpaceX officials during a prelaunch teleconference.

Participants include:

Phil Dempsey, transportation integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Kirt Costello, chief scientist for NASA’s International Space Station Program Research Office
Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
Arlena Moses, weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft will lift off from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida to deliver more than 7,000 pounds of crew supplies, equipment, and science experiments to the orbiting laboratory. Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron are currently predicting a 30% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch. Primary weather concerns are the cumulus cloud rule, flight through participation, and surface electric fields rule.

Let people know you’re following the mission on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #Dragon and #CRS28. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:

Weather 30% Favorable for Tomorrow’s Launch to Station

Blue sky and clouds serve as a backdrop for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft atop on the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 2, 2023. Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX are targeting tomorrow, June 3, for launch of the 28th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida. Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 30% chance of favorable weather conditions for liftoff, slated for 12:35 p.m. The primary weather concerns are the cumulus cloud rule, flight through participation, and surface electric fields rule.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, propelled by the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the international crew aboard the orbiting laboratory. Included in the delivery are the next pair of IROSAs (International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays). These solar panels, which roll out using stored kinetic energy, will expand the energy-production capabilities of the space station. This will be the third set launching in Dragon’s trunk, and once installed, will help provide a 20% to 30% increase in power for space station research and operations.

To advance climate monitoring efforts, students from York University in Toronto, Ontario, are providing a camera that will observe snow and ice coverage in northern Canada. Other investigations launching include Genes in Space-10, a student-designed DNA experiment sponsored by ISS National Laboratory, and the next generation of seeds for NASA’s Plant Habitat-03, which studies plant adaptation to the space environment.

Humans have occupied the space station continuously since November 2000. In that time, 269 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft have visited the orbital outpost. It remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in exploration, including future missions to the Moon under Artemis, and ultimately, human exploration of Mars.

For more information on some of the science Dragon will be delivering during this mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/research-flies-to-the-space-station-on-spacex-crs-28

Spacewalk Preps, Science Work as Dragon Counts Down to Launch

Astronaut Sultan Alneyadi sets up hardware for a protein crystal growth experiment on May 30, 2023, that may shorten the development cycle for new drugs.

Spacesuits and science filled the Expedition 69 schedule at the end of the workweek aboard the International Space Station. Back on Earth, a cargo-filled U.S. resupply ship is counting down to its launch to replenish the residents living on the orbital outpost.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg are preparing for a June 9 spacewalk to install one of two new roll-out solar arrays on the space station’s starboard-side truss structure. The duo spent Friday morning configuring Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, and readying spacewalk tools inside the Quest airlock. Hoburg then joined NASA Flight Engineer Frank Rubio in the afternoon for a fit check of his EMU.

The crew also continued its ongoing microgravity research to improve health on Earth and in space. Bowen set up blood samples in a centrifuge before stowing them in a science freezer to learn how spaceflight affects cellular immune functions. UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi pedaled on an exercise while attached to sensors monitoring his breathing and blood pressure for the Cardiobreath astronaut health study. Rubio swapped out protein crystal samples in the Kibo laboratory module for a study advancing biochemistry research in space.

Roscosmos Flight Engineers Dmitri Petelin and Andrey Fedyaev worked together on Friday for a human research study that investigates how microgravity affects the digestion process. Commander Sergey Prokopyev studied how micro-particles such as electrons, ions, and neutral gases, interact and turn into plasma crystals when exposed to electrical charges.

The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is counting down to launch at 12:35 p.m. EDT on Saturday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida with two new roll-out solar arrays packed inside its unpressurized trunk. Mission managers polled the station and Dragon teams on Thursday and reported all systems are go for launch to the orbiting lab. However, weather forecasters on Friday announced conditions at the launch pad are 70% no-go with scattered thunderstorms predicted for both Saturday and Sunday launch attempts.

For now, Dragon’s automated rendezvous and docking to the Harmony module’s space-facing port is scheduled for 5:36 a.m. on Monday. Two days after that the Canadarm2 robotic arm will extract the roll-out solar arrays from Dragon’s trunk and stage them on a pallet attached to the starboard truss. The two spacewalkers will then be able to retrieve the solar arrays and begin the installation work.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Dragon Counts Down to Launch Ahead of Spacewalks

A pair of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), also known as spacesuits, are pictured inside the space station's Quest airlock where spacewalks are staged by astronauts wearing the EMUs. — A pair of Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), also known as spacesuits, are pictured inside the space station’s Quest airlock where spacewalks are staged by astronauts wearing the EMUs.

A Dragon cargo craft is counting down to its liftoff to the International Space Station on Saturday as two NASA astronauts get ready for next week’s spacewalk. Meanwhile, the Expedition 69 crew is keeping up with its human research, robotics, and lab maintenance activities.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo craft atop has rolled out to its launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is expected to lift off at 12:35 p.m. EDT on Saturday carrying Dragon to Earth orbit. Dragon will then conduct an automated flight to the orbital outpost where it will dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 5:36 a.m. on Monday.

Dragon is carrying two new roll-out solar arrays that will be extracted from its unpressurized trunk about two days after its docking then staged on a pallet attached to the station’s starboard-side truss structure. Packed inside the U.S. cargo craft are several tons of new experiments, food, supplies, and hardware to replenish the crew members. NASA TV begins its live launch coverage at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday on the agency’s app and website. The live docking broadcast starts at 4 a.m. on Monday.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg are planning to go on a spacewalk on June 9 and install one of the new Dragon-delivered solar arrays on the starboard truss. The duo have been reviewing spacewalk procedures and configuring their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), or spacesuits, they will use next week during their excursion. Another spacewalk is scheduled for June 15 to install the second roll-out solar array packed inside Dragon.

Today, along with the ongoing spacewalk preparations, the pair had time set aside for some science and cargo activities. Bowen spent the morning servicing blood samples for the Immunity Assay experiment to explore how spaceflight affects cellular immune functions. Hoburg worked on an Astrobee robotic free-flying assistant then reviewed operations for the upcoming Dragon resupply mission.

Flight Engineers Frank Rubio of NASA and Sultan Alneyadi of UAE (United Arab Emirates), who have been assisting with the spacewalk preparations, also had a variety of science tasks booked on Thursday’s schedule. Rubio installed research hardware inside the Combustion Integrated Rack for a space fire safety study. Alneyadi is in the middle of a 48-hour period of wearing a Bio-Monitor vest and headband that is monitoring his cardiovascular system while performing normal crew activities.

Commander Sergey Prokopyev and Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin once again partnered together and continued installing upgraded data cables inside the Zvezda service module. Prokopyev also attached sensors to himself for a physical fitness evaluation on the station’s treadmill. Petelin unpacked and stowed cargo from inside the ISS Progress 84 space freighter. Flight Engineer Andrey Fedyaev spent his day practicing European robotic arm maneuvering techniques from inside the Nauka science module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: www.nasa.gov/subscribe