SpaceX CRS-20 Mission Timeline

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Drago cargo spacecraft are on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 6, 2020.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo spacecraft are on the pad at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The company’s 20th commercial resupply services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch at 11:50 p.m. EST tonight, March 6. Photo credit: NASA

COUNTDOWN (all times approximate)
Hour/Min/Sec   Events
– 00:38:00     SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
– 00:35:00     RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
– 00:35:00     1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
– 00:16:00     2nd stage LOX loading begins
– 00:07:58     Dragon transitions to internal power
– 00:07:00     Falcon 9 begins pre-launch engine chill
– 00:01:00     Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
– 00:01:00     Propellant tanks pressurize for flight
– 00:00:45     SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
– 00:00:03     Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start
– 00:00:00     Falcon 9 liftoff

LAUNCH AND DRAGON DEPLOYMENT
Hour/Min/Sec   Events
– 00:01:18     Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
– 00:02:18     1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
– 00:02:22     1st and 2nd stages separate
– 00:02:29     2nd stage engine starts
– 00:02:35     1st stage boostback burn begins
– 00:06:32     1st stage entry burn begins
– 00:08:17     1st stage landing
– 00:08:35     2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO)
– 00:09:35     Dragon separates from 2nd stage
– 00:12:02     Dragon’s solar arrays deploy
– 02:19:00     Dragon’s Guidance, Navigation and Control bay door opens

Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon Cargo Spacecraft Poised for Launch

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo spacecraft are shown earlier this evening, March 6, on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo spacecraft are shown earlier this evening, March 6, on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The company’s 20th commercial resupply services (CRS-20) mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch at 11:50 p.m. EST tonight. Photo credit: NASA

The rocket awaiting launch late this evening is the SpaceX Falcon 9, a two-stage vehicle topped by the company’s uncrewed cargo Dragon spacecraft. This will be the Falcon 9 rocket’s second flight. It previously flew on CRS-19 in December 2019. It is the Dragon cargo spacecraft’s third trip to space, having flown previously in support of CRS-10 and CRS-16 missions. The Falcon 9 first stage is powered by nine Merlin engines that ignite at T-0. Its second stage has a single Merlin engine that takes over after separation of the first stage. Merlin engines, also built by SpaceX, run on a combination of cryogenic liquid oxygen and a refined kerosene fuel called RP-1.

Installed atop the rocket, the Dragon cargo spacecraft will deliver about 4,500 pounds of science investigations and cargo to the International Space Station. The Dragon offers a pressurized section as well as an unpressurized “trunk” section for additional cargo. Also located in the trunk are the spacecraft’s power-producing solar arrays, which will open shortly after Dragon arrives in orbit.

This is SpaceX’s 20th and final contract resupply mission under the first Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. It is also the last SpaceX CRS mission to use the Dragon 1 vehicle. Future missions under the CRS-2 contract will utilize the Dragon 2 spacecraft and will return to Earth with a water landing in the Atlantic Ocean.

Read more about the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft.

Launch Day Arrives for SpaceX CRS-20

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo spacecraft are on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo spacecraft are on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, awaiting launch on the company’s 20th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for 11:50 p.m. EST tonight, March 6. Photo credit: NASA

Liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo spacecraft is targeted for 11:50 p.m. EST this evening. Countdown activities are in progress at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, where the rocket awaits launch on the company’s 20th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station.

CRS-20 is the second U.S. resupply mission to the space station this year, and the first resupply mission for SpaceX this year.

Be sure to join us here on the blog and on NASA Television beginning at 11:30 p.m. EST for updates from the countdown. Learn more about the SpaceX CRS-20 mission by going to the mission home page at http://www.nasa.gov/spacex.

SpaceX CRS-20 Prelaunch News Conference

SpaceX CRS-20 mission patch.A prelaunch news conference for SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA to the International Space Station is set for 4 p.m. EST today.

Participants include:

  • Joel Montalbano, manager for International Space Station Program
  • Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist for International Space Station Program
  • Hans Koenigsmann, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX
  • Mike McAleenan, launch weather officer, 45th Space Wing, U.S. Air Force

Watch the news conference on NASA Television.

NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 11:50 p.m. EST tonight, March 6, for the launch of resupply mission to the space station.

Follow the launch countdown tonight beginning at 11:30 p.m. on NASA TV and the launch blog. To learn more about the SpaceX CRS-20 mission, visit the mission homepage at http://www.nasa.gov/spacex.

“What’s on Board” Briefing for SpaceX CRS-20 Mission

Airbus workers unpack the Bartolomeo platform in the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 30, 2020.
Airbus workers unpack the Bartolomeo platform in the Space Station Processing Facility high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 30, 2020. Bartolomeo was manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. The platform will be delivered to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s 20th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-20) mission for the agency. The platform will attach to the exterior of the space station’s European Columbus Module. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

A briefing about the science payloads for delivery on the SpaceX CRS-20 mission to the International Space Station is set for today at 3 p.m. Tune in to NASA Television. Participants include:

  • Jennifer Buchli, deputy chief scientist for NASA’s International Space Station Program Science Office, who will share an overview of the research being conducted aboard the space station and how it benefits exploration and humanity.
  • Michael Roberts, interim chief scientist for the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, who will discuss the lab’s work in advancing science in space, and in developing partnerships that drive industrialization through microgravity research.
  • Bill Corely, director of business development for Airbus Defence and Space, and Bartolomeo Project Manager Andreas Schutte, who will discuss Bartolomeo, a new commercial research platform from ESA (European Space Agency), set to be installed on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.
  • Chunhui Xu, associate professor of Emory University School of Medicine, and principle investigator for the Generation of Cardiomyocytes from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (MVP Cell-03) experiment, who will discuss the study on the generation of specialized heart muscle cells for use in research and clinical applications.
  • Paul Patton, senior manager, front end innovation and regulatory for Delta Faucet, and Garry Marty, principal product engineer for Delta Faucet, who will discuss the Droplet Formation Study, which evaluates water droplet formation and water flow of Delta Faucet’s H2Okinetic showerhead technology. This research in microgravity could help improve technology, creating better performance and improved user experience while conserving water and energy.
  • Aaron Beeler, professor of medicinal chemistry at Boston University, and principal investigator, and co-investigator Matthew Mailloux of Flow Chemistry Platform for Synthetic Reactions on ISS, which will study the effects of microgravity on chemical reactions, as a first step toward on-demand chemical synthesis on the space station.

Weather Forecast Favorable for SpaceX CRS-20 Launch

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Dec. 5, 2019, at 12:29 p.m. EST. It was SpaceX’s 19th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-19) mission for NASA to the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon cargo module lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Dec. 5, 2019, at 12:29 p.m. EST. It was SpaceX’s 19th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-19) mission for NASA to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray/Tim Terry/Kevin O’Connell

Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing predict a 60 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket for the company’s 20th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for Friday, March 6 at 11:50 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Skies will clear through the day Friday, and winds will become gusty out of the north as a high-pressure area moves east. The primary weather concern for launch is liftoff winds with the tight pressure gradient behind the front.