Month: April 2015

SpaceX will attempt another launch today at 4:10 p.m. EDT after a weather violation within 10 nautical miles of the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, forced mission controllers to scrub Monday’s launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon space freighter to the International Space Station. Live coverage on NASA TV begins at 3 p.m.

The six Expedition 43 crew members aboard the orbital laboratory worked on a wide variety of microgravity science Tuesday. The crew also worked science maintenance ensuring the upkeep of the advanced gear and technology that supports hundreds of experiments in space.

The crew with assistance from payload controllers on the ground explored subjects including how life in space can affect an organism’s physiology, how a crew member adapts to the closed environment of a spacecraft and the changes in cardiac function during a long-term mission.

Because of weather conditions that violated the rules for launching, SpaceX has postponed its planned launch of its Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft. It is SpaceX’s sixth commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station.

The next launch opportunity is Tuesday, April 14, at 4:10:40 p.m. EDT. NASA Television coverage will begin at 3 p.m. at: https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.

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. For a mission overview, press kit, launch countdown coverage, NASA’s launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

To join the online conversation about the SpaceX CRS-6 launch, the International Space Station and Expedition 43 on Twitter, follow @Space_Station and the hashtag #ISScargo.

The Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft on top, is loaded with its complement of flight propellants and ready for lift off. Terminal countdown has begun with no technical concerns with the rocket or spacecraft. Forecasters are closing monitoring a storm cell near the launch site. Weather currently is “go” for launch.

Live NASA TV coverage of the launch is underway at: https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.

An on-time liftoff at 4:33 p.m. EDT means the Dragon spacecraft will catch up to the station Wednesday, April 15. Flight Engineer and European Space Agency Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts will use the station’s 57.7-foot (17.6-meter) robotic arm to reach out and capture the Dragon spacecraft as they operate from the station’s cupola.

The Dragon will be attached to the Earth-facing port of the station’s Harmony node to deliver 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.

Join the online conversation on Twitter by following @Space_Station and the hashtag #ISScargo.

Countdown is progressing smoothly for today’s scheduled launch of the sixth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The rocket is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying about two tons of supplies and science investigations in the cargo Dragon spacecraft. There is a 60 percent chance for favorable weather at the liftoff time, which has changed by one second to 4:33:16 p.m. EDT.

NASA television coverage has begun and can be seen at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

The cargo includes critical materials to support about 40 of more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during the station’s Expeditions 43 and 44. For a mission overview, press kit, launch countdown coverage, NASA’s launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

To join the online conversation about the SpaceX CRS-6 launch, the International Space Station and Expedition 43 on Twitter, follow @Space_Station and the hashtag #ISScargo.

SpaceX is ready to launch its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space freighter today at 4:33 p.m. EDT loaded with more than two tons of science gear and crew supplies. Orbiting overhead in the International Space Station the six Expedition 43 crew members observed Cosmonautics Day.

NASA TV will cover the launch of the sixth SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services mission (SpaceX CRS-6) live beginning at 3:30 p.m. today. The Dragon spacecraft will arrive at the space station Wednesday morning for a five week stay delivering gear to support dozens of life science, human research and physics experiments.

The crew relaxed Monday morning as they commemorated the first space flight of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin back in April 12, 1961. The three astronauts and three cosmonauts went back to work in the afternoon on a wide variety of advanced microgravity science and routine maintenance activities.

NASA astronauts Terry Virts and Scott Kelly joined Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti for a Dragon cargo conference in the afternoon. Cristoforetti will be in the cupola Wednesday morning controlling the Canadarm2 when she captures Dragon around 7 a.m. Virts and Kelly will be assisting her and monitoring Dragon’s arrival.

Advanced microgravity science is moving full speed ahead now that the International Space Station is fully staffed with the six-member Expedition 43 crew. New science gear is also headed to the station as SpaceX readies its Dragon cargo craft for their sixth Commercial Resupply Services mission (SpaceX CRS-6).

Commander Terry Virts studied how blood pressure is impacted before, during and after a spaceflight for the BP Reg experiment. One-Year crew member Scott Kelly collected his perspiration samples after an exercise session for the Microbiome study then prepared for upcoming Ultrasound and blood pressure work. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti began her day with Aniso Tubule botany work then moved on to gathering tools for the Rodent Research study.

Kelly’s fellow One-Year crew member, Mikhail Kornienko, mixed cell cultures in a bioreactor before downloading data collected for identification of the dynamic forces on the space station. Cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov ended his 24 hour blood pressure monitoring session then studied ways to detect pressure leaks inside the station for the Bar  experiment.

Cristoforetti later joined Virts for a grapple training session as they prepare to capture the Dragon space freighter with the Canadarm2 when it arrives next week. Dragon will launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket April 13 delivering new science experiments such as OASIS and ISSpresso.

Commander Terry Virts and One-Year crew member Scott Kelly, both NASA astronauts, partnered together Monday for spacesuit maintenance in the Quest airlock. Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti also worked throughout the U.S. segment on a variety of botany science and life research benefitting humans on Earth and crews in space.

A trio of cosmonauts, Flight Engineers Anton Shkaplerov, Gennady Padalka and One-Year crew member Mikhail Kornienko, worked on an array of ongoing science and maintenance in the Russian segment of the orbital laboratory. They worked on the Kurs automated rendezvous system which can guide and dock a Russian spacecraft from inside the space station if necessary. The crew also sampled the Zvezda service module’s air and analyzed it for quality.

Back on Earth, SpaceX is readying its Falcon rocket and Dragon commercial space freighter for an April 13 launch from Florida to the International Space Station. Dragon will fly for two days before its capture and berthing to the Harmony module where it will stay until May 20. This will be the sixth SpaceX mission (SpaceX CRS-6) for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract.

New experiments Plant Gravity Sensing and TripleLux-A will be delivered on the upcoming SpaceX Dragon mission.