Weather forecasters from the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron are predicting a 60 percent chance of favorable weather at the scheduled time for launch of SpaceX CRS-6. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for 4:33 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Launch coverage on NASA Television will begin at 3:30 p.m. A Monday launch will result in the Dragon spacecraft arriving at the International Space Station Wednesday, April 15. Expedition 43 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency will use the station’s 57.7-foot robotic arm to reach out and capture Dragon at approximately 7 a.m. Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA will support Cristoforetti as they operate from the station’s cupola. NASA TV coverage of grapple will begin at 5 a.m. Coverage of Dragon’s installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 9:15 a.m.
If launch does not occur on Monday, the next launch opportunity would be at 4:10 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14.