Author: Amanda Griffin

SpaceX CRS-13 Launch Set For No Earlier Than Dec. 12

NASA and our commercial cargo provider SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Dec. 12 at 11:46 a.m. EST for their 13th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. This new launch date takes into account pad readiness, requirements for science payloads, space station crew availability, and orbital mechanics. Carrying about 4,800 pounds of cargo including critical science and research, the Dragon spacecraft will spend a month attached to the space station.

NASA Television to Air Launch of Next Space Station Resupply Mission

NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting its 13th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for no earlier than 1:20 p.m. EST Friday, Dec. 8. Packed with almost 4,800 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

For a full rundown of SpaceX CRS-13 briefings and events, visit https://www.nasa.gov/content/spacex-crs-13-briefings-and-events.

White House Kitchen Garden Includes Veg-03 Cabbage Seedlings

First Lady Michelle Obama, holds up NASA Veggie stickers while posing with Brad Carpenter, NASA chief scientist, Space Life and Physical Sciences, left; NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, second left; NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, second right; and Gioia Massa, science team lead, Veggie project, right.
First Lady Michelle Obama, holds up NASA Veggie stickers while posing with Brad Carpenter, NASA chief scientist, Space Life and Physical Sciences, left; NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, second left; NASA astronaut Cady Coleman, second right; and Gioia Massa, science team lead, Veggie project, right. Photo Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Space-age plants are growing in first lady Michelle Obama’s White House Kitchen Garden. The seeds, prepared at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, are from the same lot of ‘Tokyo Bekana’ Chinese cabbage seeds that are part of the Veg-03 experiment that will be carried to the International Space Station in the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft during its eighth Commercial Resupply Services mission.

The first lady joined students from across the country to plant the seedlings. Also joining her were NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, and astronaut Cady Coleman. Gioia Massa, NASA Veg-03 science team lead at Kennedy, also helped plant the seedlings with the kids.

Read the full story here.

SpaceX Targeting April 13 For Station Resupply Launch

blog_image_spacexSpaceX is targeting Monday, April 13 to launch the next commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for approximately 4:33 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA Television coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. 
 
A Monday launch will result in the Dragon spacecraft arriving at the space station Wednesday, April 15. Expedition 43 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) will use the station’s 57.7-foot robotic arm to reach out and capture Dragon at approximately 7:14 a.m. Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA will support Cristoforetti as they operate from the station’s cupola. NASA TV coverage of grapple will begin at 5 a.m. Coverage of Dragon’s installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 9:15 a.m. 
 
If the launch does not occur on Monday, the next launch opportunity would be at approximately 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, April 14. 
 
This is the sixth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission and the seventh trip by a Dragon spacecraft to the station. Dragon is filled with more than 4,300 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 43 and 44. After about five weeks at the space station, Dragon will return to Earth filled with cargo including crew supplies, hardware and computer resources, science experiments, and space station hardware.
 
For launch countdown coverage, NASA’s launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit:https://www.nasa.gov/spacex
 
To join the online conversation about the SpaceX CRS-6 launch, the International Space Station and Expedition 43 on Twitter, follow the hashtags #ISScargo and #ISS. To learn more about all the ways to connect and collaborate with NASA, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/connect

SpaceX, NASA Set for Next Commercial Resupply Flight

SpaceX and NASA are preparing to launch the next commercial resupply mission to deliver several tons of critical supplies and new science investigations and technology research to the crew aboard the International Space. The launch is targeted for no earlier than April 10, 2015. SpaceX will launch its Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. It will be the company’s sixth commercial resupply mission under NASA contract to the space station.