SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is topped by the company’s uncrewed Dragon spacecraft. Dragon is filled with more than 5,500 pound of supplies and payloads, including more than 250 science and research investigations that will take place onboard the International Space Station.
It is not this spacecraft’s first trip to the space station. The CRS-17 Dragon visited the orbiting laboratory in August 2017 during CRS-12.
Read more about the Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon spacecraft
Liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for 3:11 a.m. EDT today. 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 17th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Be sure to join us here on the blog and on NASA Television beginning at 2:45 a.m. for updates from the countdown. Learn more about the SpaceX CRS-17 mission by going to the mission home page at http://www.nasa.gov/spacex.
Following this morning’s prelaunch news conference at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX is continuing to target Friday, May 3, for an instantaneous launch of its 17th Commercial Resupply Services Mission at 3:11 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
One factor to watch will be the weather.
“Normally I’m not the bearer of bad news but I kind of feel like I am today,” said Will Ulrich, a launch weather officer with the U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing. “We’ve been monitoring an area of disturbed weather over the Bahamas for the past few days, and that area of disturbed weather is encroaching upon the Space Coast.”
The launch day forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft aboard the company’s Falcon 9 rocket. That prediction includes winds between 15-20 mph. The primary weather concerns are cumulus and thick cloud rule, and flight through precipitation.
The Dragon spacecraft will deliver supplies including critical materials to support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 59 and 60. The spacecraft’s unpressurized trunk will transport NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 (OCO-3) and Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6).
Follow along here on the blog and on NASA Television tomorrow beginning at 2:45 a.m. EDT for updates from the countdown.
NASA’s commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 3:11 a.m. EDT on Friday, May 3, for the launch of its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station. Packed with more than 5,500 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.
This morning, Robotics Ground Controllers in Mission Control Houston successfully completed an operation to remove a failed Main Bus Switching Unit-3 and replace it with a spare. The MBSU in question had failed on April 29 and reduced the station’s power supply by about 25%. There were no immediate concerns for the crew or the station. The crew had installed a series of jumpers in Node 1 following the failure to reroute power to experiments and hardware and ensure limited impact to continued station operations.
The completion of the robotics work marks the second time an MBSU was swapped out by means other than a spacewalk. Since the successful replacement, the MBSU was powered up and checked out successfully with all station systems back to nominal power configuration, including redundant power to the Canadarm2 robotic arm.
NASA TV Coverage
Follow coverage of the SpaceX CRS-17 mission with prelaunch events on NASA Television and at www.nasa.gov/live.
Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Friday, May 3, for the launch of the company’s 17th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for 3:11 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
On April 29, the space station team identified an issue with one of the station’s Main Bus Switching Units (MBSU) that distributes power to two of the eight power channels on the station. There are no immediate concerns for the crew or the station.
Flight controllers are scheduled to perform a series of maneuvers to robotically swap the failed MSBU for a spare on Wednesday, May 1 and Thursday, May 2. After the swap is complete, flight controllers will conduct a series of checkouts on the newly installed MBSU and take steps to return the station to full power capability to support SpaceX capture and berthing.
NASA has requested SpaceX move off from May 1 for the launch of the company’s 17th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station.
On April 29, the space station team identified an issue with one of the station’s Main Bus Switching Units that distributes power to two of the eight power channels on the station. There are no immediate concerns for the crew or the station. Teams are working on a plan to robotically replace the failed unit and restore full power to the station system. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available. The earliest possible launch opportunity is no earlier than Friday, May 3.
NASA’s commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 3:59 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 1, for the launch of its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station after successful completion of its static fire engine test. Packed with more than 5,500 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.
Follow along with the coverage of the SpaceX CRS-17 mission with prelaunch events on NASA Television and at www.nasa.gov/live.
Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
NASA’s commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 3:59 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 1, for the launch of its 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station after successful completion of its static fire engine test. Packed with more than 5,500 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.
Follow along with the coverage of the SpaceX CRS-17 mission with prelaunch events on NASA Television and at www.nasa.gov/live.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is now scheduled to launch at 4:22 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 30, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This will be SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services contract mission to the International Space Station for NASA.
SpaceX will take advantage of the additional time to perform a static fire test and pre-flight checkouts. Falcon 9 and Dragon are on track to be flight ready for an earlier launch attempt, however, April 30 is the most viable date for both NASA and SpaceX due to station and orbital mechanics constraints.
NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. Monday, April 22, to discuss select science investigations the Dragon will deliver to the astronauts living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA will stream audio from the discussion at http://www.nasa.gov/live.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 5:55 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 26, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This will be SpaceX’s 17th Commercial Resupply Services contract mission to the International Space Station for NASA.
Launch on April 26 results in an arrival at the space station for a robotic capture by Expedition 59 crew members David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency and Nick Hague of NASA on Sunday, April 28, at 7 a.m. EDT for a month-long stay.
Learn more about station activities by following @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.
