Welcome to Launch Day for CRS-10!

crs-10-2-screebgrab-1Good morning from Florida where a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand ready to liftoff later this morning to deliver some 5,500 pounds of experiments and equipment to the crew of the International Space Station! Launch is scheduled for 9:39 a.m. EST from the iconic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The weather forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. The SpaceX launch team is fueling the two-stage Falcon 9 and will soon begin pumping liquid oxygen into the launch vehicle’s tanks in a few minutes.

 

Fueling Begins

Pumps are now loading refined kerosene known as RP-1 into the fuel tanks of the Falcon 9 first stage. Liquid oxygen will be loaded into the first stage later this morning. The nine Merlin engines of the first stage burn a combination of kerosene fuel and oxygen to produce about 1.7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Launch remains on track for 9:39 a.m. EST.

Forecast Remains 70 Percent ‘Go’

Launch Weather Officer Mike McAleenan informed the launch teams that today’s outlook forecasts a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. The concern is for cumulus clouds and the possibility of having to fly through precipitation. A light system of precipitation that is moving into the area is expected to clear away from the launch site by 9:20 a.m., about 20 minutes before launch time from Launch Complex 39A.

Launch Scrubbed

Today’s launch attempt has been scrubbed because of the thrust vector control system issue that developed late in today’s countdown, NASA Launch Commentator George Diller reports. The launch team is setting up for a 24-hour turnaround, meaning the team will try again tomorrow morning if the thrust vectoring issue is resolved. Like today, tomorrow’s weather forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions.