Kennedy Space Center

Weather Forecast 70 Percent ‘Go’ for Wednesday Test

The weather forecast remains 70 percent favorable for the SpaceX Pad Abort Test on Wednesday, May 6, from a platform at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The test window will open at 7 a.m. and extend until 2:30 p.m. EDT. NASA will provide updates about the test on the Commercial Crew Blog and air the test live on NASA Television. The flight test is to see a Crew Dragon and trunk – together about 20 feet tall – fly on the power of eight SuperDraco engines.

Learn more at http://go.nasa.gov/1bmETRS.

Pad Abort Test a Unique Evaluation Opportunity

SpaceX and NASA teams will gain important insight into how the Crew Dragon spacecraft and its abort system perform during a test slated for Wednesday, May 6, engineers said today.

Next week’s flight test is to see a Crew Dragon and trunk – together about 20 feet tall – fly on the power of eight SuperDraco engines from a platform at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, simulating an emergency escape from the launch pad.

“This is what SpaceX was basically founded for, human spaceflight,” said Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Mission Assurance with SpaceX. “The pad abort is going to show that we’ve developed a revolutionary system for the safety of the astronauts, and this test is going to show how it works. It’s our first big test on the Crew Dragon.”

The test window will open at 7 a.m. May 6 and extend until 2:30 p.m. EDT. NASA will provide updates about the test on our Commercial Crew Blog and air the test live on NASA Television.

“No matter what happens on test day, SpaceX is going to learn a lot,” said Jon Cowart, NASA’s partner manager for SpaceX. “One test is worth a thousand good analyses.”

Learn more at http://go.nasa.gov/1bmETRS.

SpaceX Targets May 6 for Pad Abort Test of New Crew Spacecraft

SpaceX now is targeting Wednesday, May 6, for a pad abort test of its Crew Dragon, a spacecraft under final development and certification through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP). The test window will open at 7 a.m. EDT.

NASA Television will provide live coverage of the test, which will simulate an emergency abort from a test stand on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida.

SpaceX Preparing for Commercial Crew Pad Abort Test

SpaceX currently is targeting no earlier than Tuesday, May 5, for a pad abort test of its Crew Dragon development spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The ability to abort from a launch or pad emergency and safely carry crew members out of harm’s way is a critical element for NASA’s next generation of crew spacecraft.

The company will have a four-hour window to conduct the test, beginning at about 9:30 a.m. EDT. SpaceX has an additional test opportunity on Wednesday, May 6. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the test. NASA TV also will air a media briefing previewing the test with SpaceX and NASA representatives at 10 a.m. Friday, May 1.

SpaceX will perform the test under its Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement with NASA, but can use the data gathered during the development flight as it continues on the path to certification. Under a separate Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program will certify SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, Falcon 9 rocket, ground and mission operations systems to fly crews to and from the International Space Station.

More about media credentialing and coverage details available here.

Share Your Corner of Earth with NASA

This Earth Day, April 22, NASA is asking you to share pictures and video of your favorite places on Earth using social media – and tag them #NoPlaceLikeHome.

In the coming days, we will be sharing NASA’s views of Earth – from our satellites, from our research aircraft, and even from our scientists themselves at work in the field. Look for NASA’s posts on Twitter, Vine, Instagram, Facebook and elsewhere. But while the view from space can be awe-inspiring, our satellites do not see the world the way you do.

We want you to share with NASA and the world views of your corner of Earth – your favorite place, whether it’s a local park, your vacation spot or Mt. Everest. Our question to you is a simple one: What is your favorite place on Earth?

Join Kennedy Space Center on Earth Day (and every day!) at:
http://www.facebook.com/NASAKennedy
http://twitter.com/NASAKennedy
http://instagram.com/nasakennedy/

Learn more about #NoPlaceLikeHome

Liftoff! SpaceX Falcon 9 Heads Toward Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 4:10 p.m. EDT on the sixth commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. At the time of launch, the orbiting laboratory was traveling at an altitude of 257 miles over the Great Australian Bight, south of Western Australia.

The spacecraft’s two tons of supplies, science experiments, and technology demonstrations include critical materials to support about 40 of more than 250 science and research investigations during the station’s Expeditions 43 and 44.

Launch Day Weather Forecast 60 Percent ‘Go’

The U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron forecast for the launch of the sixth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station is 60 percent “go.” There is a 40 percent chance of violating the Anvil Cloud Rule and Cumulus Cloud Rule at the scheduled launch time of 4:10:41 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.

Countdown coverage begins at 3 p.m. on NASA’s Launch Blog and NASA Television.

The spacecraft is loaded with more than 4,300 pounds of supplies, science experiments, and technology demonstrations, including critical materials to support about 40 of more than 250 science and research investigations during the station’s Expeditions 43 and 44.

Briefings on Tap; L-1 Weather Forecast Still 60 Percent ‘Go’

U.S. Air Force 45^th Weather Squadron forecasters continue to predict a 60 percent of favorable conditions for the launch of SpaceX CRS-6 on Monday, April 13. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for exactly 4:33:15 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Launch coverage on NASA television will begin Monday at 3:30 p.m.

Today NASA will host a prelaunch briefing and two panel discussions to preview some of the 40 science and research investigations that will be directly supported by the critical cargo the sixth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission will deliver to the International Space Station. NASA Television will provide live coverage and streaming Internet coverage at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.

1:30-2:30 p.m. – ISS Research and Technology Panel
3:30-4:30 p.m. – ISS National Lab Panel
5-6 p.m. – Prelaunch News Conference

L-3 Weather Forecast 60 Percent ‘Go’

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.

Launch Complex 39A Continues Evolution

SpaceX installs the exterior skin on hangar at Launch Complex 39A The exterior skin begins to take shape of what will become SpaceX’s new 300-foot-long horizontal hangar at the base of Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39A. Inside, the company will process the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket before being rolled out for launch. The company also is refurbishing the historic complex for Commercial Crew and Falcon Heavy launches.