A Look at Dragon’s Arrival at ISS

16994664079_389658680e_oThe SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was berthed to the Harmony module of the International Space Stationon Friday at 9:29 a.m. EDT while the two spacecraft were traveling above the coast of Sierra Leone. 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. The capsule is scheduled to spend five weeks attached to the station.

For an overview of newly delivered science investigations aboard Dragon, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/spacex_six/

Dragon Captured at Space Station

While the International Space Station was traveling 257 statue miles over the Pacific Ocean just east of Japan, Expedition 43 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency, with the assistance of Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts of NASA, successfully captured the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with the station’s robotic arm at 6:55 a.m. EDT.

Operations to berth Dragon to the space station begin at about 9:40 a.m. NASA TV coverage will resume at 9:15 a.m. at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Read Our Account of Today’s Launch

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NASA/Kim Shiflett

We just posted our launch feature detailing today’s flawless liftoff of the CRS-6 mission and what it means for the overall research missions of the International Space Station and its crew members.

You can read the feature here and stay current throughout the CRS-6 mission here.

Coming up, the Dragon will approach the station at 7 a.m. EDT Friday where it can be captured by the station’s robotic arm for berthing to the International Space Station.

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NASA/Kim Shiflett

 

SpaceX Reports on First Stage Flyback

SpaceX founder Elon Musk reported via Twitter, “Ascent successful. Dragon enroute to Space Station. Rocket landed on droneship, but too hard for survival.” The company is working to recover its first stage after launch, but that work is not a criteria for success with NASA’s missions to deliver cargo to the International Space Station. SpaceX also tweeted this photo:

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Success! Dragon on its Way to Station

The Dragon spacecraft is on its own in orbit and operating with its arrays deployed as planned. Next stop, the International Space Station where Flight Engineer and European Space Agency Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti and Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts will use the station’s 57.7-foot robotic arm to reach out and capture it as they operate from the station’s cupola. Arrival is set for Friday at 7 a.m. EDT.