A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket stands at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on February 6, 2018. Photo credit: SpaceX
Hello and welcome from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida! A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket stands ready for liftoff at Launch Complex 39A for the DoD and U.S. Air Force’s STP-2 mission. Launch is scheduled for 2:30 a.m. EDT this morning, with a one-hour launch window. Follow along on NASA Television for the live broadcast.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing predict an 80% chance of favorable weather for liftoff.
Throughout the duration of the six-hour mission, nearly two dozen satellites – including four NASA payloads – will be delivered to space. NASA’s technologies on board will help improve spacecraft design and performance, advancing future space exploration to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket is ready for launch on the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 24, 2019. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
SpaceX is now targeting 2:30 a.m. EDT, June 25 for the Falcon Heavy launch of the Department of Defense Space Test Program-2 to allow time for additional ground system checkouts—vehicle and payload continue to look good.
NASA TV live launch coverage will start 30 minutes before launch, at 2 a.m.:
STP-2 is the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program-2 mission. It is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Monday, June 24, at 11:30 p.m. EDT.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket stands at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida for tonight’s launch of the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission. Lift off is scheduled for 11:30 p.m. EDT, with a four-hour launch window. The mission, managed by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, will deliver 24 satellites to space, including four NASA payloads.
Meteorologists with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing predict an 80% chance of favorable weather for liftoff. Primary weather concerns are anvil cloud rule and thick cloud layer rule.
Tonight’s launch will be among one of the most challenging in SpaceX’s history with four separate upper-stage engine burns, three separate deployment orbits and a propulsive passivation maneuver, where the engine continues to run until it empties out the second stage of fuel. SpaceX also plans to recover the rocket’s three boosters after launch by landing the two side boosters at the Cape Canaveral landing site and the center core downrange on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You.”
Join us here on the blog tonight and on NASA Television for live mission coverage and updates beginning at 11 p.m. Learn more about tonight’s STP-2 launch by visiting the mission home page at https://www.spacex.com/stp-2.
The two-stage Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the SpaceX’s Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 1:16 p.m. EST, Dec. 5, 2018. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
A nearly 6,000-pound care package is on its way to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. The company’s 16th commercial cargo mission to resupply the space station began at 1:16 p.m. EST on Dec. 5, 2018, with liftoff aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
“It was an incredible launch,” said Joel Montalbano, deputy ISS program manager, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “This was the fourth launch in three weeks to the space station.”
After a successful climb into space, the Dragon spacecraft now is in orbit with its solar arrays deployed and drawing power.
“This is a great day. We had a beautiful launch.” said Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX.
The Dragon spacecraft will deliver science, supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory. Science experiments include the Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3) and the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI).
RRM3 demonstrates the storage and transfer of cryogenic fluid, which is critical for propulsion and life support systems in space. While the Robotic Refueling Mission Phase 2 (RRM2) demonstrated tasks leading up to coolant replenishment, the actual transfer of cryogenic fluid in orbit will be carried out for the first time with RRM3, using liquid methane.
GEDI will make high-quality laser ranging observations of Earth’s forests and topography required to advance the understanding of important carbon and water cycling processes, biodiversity and habitat. GEDI will be mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module’s Exposed Facility and will provide the first high-resolution observations of forest vertical structure at a global scale.
Also, the Growth of Large, Perfect Protein Crystals for Neutron Crystallography (Perfect Crystals) crystallizes an antioxidant protein found inside the human body to analyze its shape. This research may shed light on how the protein helps protect the human body from ionizing radiation and oxidants created as a byproduct of metabolism. For best results, analysis requires large crystals with minimal imperfections, which are more easily produced in the microgravity environment of the space station.
Hardware for the station includes Orbital Replacement Unit #2, an additional spare required for sufficient gas analysis capability; an external high definition camera assembly; two oxygen tanks necessary to support upcoming spacewalks as well as nominal operations; a Microgravity Science Glovebox video drawer to support further payload operations in orbit; and a rodent research transport assembly and support hardware to support operations for Rodent Research-8.
Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec 8. Installation coverage is set to begin at 7:30 a.m. Astronauts aboard the station will capture the Dragon using the space station’s robotic arm and then install it on the station’s Harmony module. The Dragon spacecraft will spend about five weeks attached to the space station, returning to Earth in January 2019, with more than 4,000 pounds of research, hardware and crew supplies.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 1:15 p.m. EST on Dec. 5, 2018. Photo credit: NASA
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station, after launching on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket at 1:15 p.m. EST on Dec. 5, 2018. A postlaunch press conference will take place at 3:15 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
Participants are:
Joel Montalbano, deputy ISS program manager, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX
Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture of the Dragon will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 8. Installation coverage is set to begin at 7:30 a.m.
The Dragon spacecraft will spend about five weeks attached to the space station. Dragon will remain at the space station until Jan 2019 when the spacecraft will return to Earth with research and return cargo.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft lifts off Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, on Dec. 5, 2018, at 1:16 p.m. EST.
Dragon’s solar arrays are unfurled and the spacecraft will begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the orbiting laboratory three days later, Saturday, Dec. 8. Dragon will deliver about 5,600 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station.
The Falcon 9 rocket’s first-stage engines have finished their burn and the first stage has separated from the vehicle. As the second stage continues the flight, the first stage will aim for a landing at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 with the Dragon spacecraft lifts off at 1:16 p.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
T-0, ignition and liftoff at 1:16 p.m. EST of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, setting off on the company’s 16th mission to deliver supplies, equipment and science materials to the International Space Station. The vehicle is quickly climbing away from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
