Following a prelaunch news conference at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA and SpaceX remain “go” for tomorrow’s launch of SpaceX’s 21st Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station.
“This morning, we did a mission management team meeting, and we had a unanimous go for this launch and docking,” said Kenny Todd, deputy program manager of NASA’s International Space Station Program Office. “We’re excited to get on with it; we’ll see how things play out over the next couple of days, but hopefully by the middle of the week, we’ll have a Dragon on the way, if not already attached (to station).”
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the upgraded cargo Dragon spacecraft atop, stands poised for launch at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, and weather officials are now predicting a 50% chance of favorable weather conditions for liftoff. While that’s a slight increase over previous launch forecasts, a cold front moving across the state of Florida will have teams keeping a close eye on the weather.
“Previously, it looked like that cold front would be passing right during the launch window, but the trend is now our friend – the models are now bringing that cold front through prior to the launch window,” said Melody Lovin, U.S. Space Force launch and weather officer for the 45th Space Wing.
“Because of that, we’re expecting most of the rain associated with the cold front to be pretty much done before the launch window opens up. We’re not exactly sure when the clouds are going to clear out of the way for us. We’re hoping the earlier the cold front will pass, the more clearing we’ll get.”
The first mission for SpaceX under NASA’s second Commercial Resupply Services contract, CRS-21 will deliver more than 6,400 pounds of supplies, equipment, and critical materials needed to support a variety of science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 64 and 65. With SpaceX’s Crew Dragon carrying a crew of four to the orbiting laboratory last month, the mission will also mark the first time two Dragon spacecraft will be attached to the space station simultaneously.
“It really ushers in a season of continuous Dragon presence for the near future,” said Sarah Walker, director of SpaceX Dragon Mission Management. “We’re excited about all of the missions that we’ll be flying for NASA and the International Space Station program, both cargo and crew, and it’s really just an honor to be a part of that.”
Dragon will spend about one month attached to the orbiting laboratory before autonomously undocking and returning to Earth with 5,200 pounds research and return cargo. The spacecraft is slated to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean upon its arrival.
Liftoff is targeted for 11:39 a.m. EST tomorrow, Dec. 5, with live launch countdown coverage beginning at 11:15 a.m. EST. Follow along here on the blog, NASA TV, or the agency’s website. Learn more about the mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spacex_crs-21_mision_overview_high_res_0.pdf