A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and cargo Dragon spacecraft stand poised for launch moments before liftoff at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Dec. 6, 2020, for NASA and SpaceX’s 21st Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station. The first launch for SpaceX under NASA’s CRS-2 contract, the mission blasted off the pad at 11:17 a.m. EST. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 1:29 p.m. EDT on Thursday, June 3, for the company’s 22nd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, topped by the uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft, is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This will be the second SpaceX mission to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment for NASA under the agency’s second Commercial Resupply Services contract. To date, SpaceX has completed 21 cargo resupply missions to and from the space station, providing more than 100,000 pounds of supplies and approximately 80,000 pounds of return mass.
Tune in to NASA TV and the agency’s website for live coverage, beginning Wednesday, June 2, with prelaunch activities.
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, on Monday, March 9. Dragon will deliver about 4,500 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station.
When it arrives March 9, Expedition 62 Flight Engineer Jessica Meir of NASA will grapple Dragon, with Andrew Morgan of NASA acting as a backup. The station crew will monitor Dragon functions during rendezvous. After Dragon’s capture, mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will send ground commands for the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station’s Harmony module.
Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture can be viewed on March 9 beginning at 5:30 a.m. EST at www.nasa.gov/live.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with the Dragon cargo spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 11:50 p.m. EST on March 6, 2020. Photo credit: NASA
T-0, ignition and liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft at 11:50 p.m. EST, setting off on the company’s 20th mission to deliver supplies, equipment and science experiments to the International Space Station. The vehicle is quickly climbing away from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
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.
NASA and SpaceX are now targeting Wednesday, Dec. 5 for launch of the 16th SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The launch was moved to Wednesday after mold was found on food bars for a rodent investigation prior to handover to SpaceX. Teams will use the extra day to replace the food bars. The launch time for Wednesday is 1:16 p.m. EST.
A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 29, 2018. SpaceX is targeting 1:38 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 4, for the launch of its 16th resupply mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA
SpaceX’s 16th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA is targeted to launch at 1:39 p.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 4, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Join us Monday, Dec. 3, as we start SpaceX CRS-16 launch week coverage with prelaunch events on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
9:30 a.m. – What’s on Board science briefing from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The briefing will highlight the following research:
Jill McGuire, project manager, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will discuss RRM3.
Dr. Ralph Dubayah, principal investigator, University of Maryland, and Bryan Blair, deputy principal investigator, Goddard, will discuss GEDI.
Dr. Elaine Horn-Ranney, principal investigator, Tympanogen, will discuss an investigation into novel wound dressings and how antibiotics can be directly released on wound sites.
Nicole Wagner, LambdaVision, will discuss the Enhancement of Performance and Longevity of a Protein-Based Retinal Implant.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 2, 2018, carrying the 14th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray, Tim Powers, Tim Terry
Commercial Resupply Services Mission:SpaceX CRS-16 Launch:1:38 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2018 Lift Off:Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Launch Vehicle:SpaceX Falcon 9, 230 feet-tall Spacecraft:Dragon, 20 feet high, 12 feet-in diameter Payload:Dragon will deliver supplies and payloads, including materials to directly support dozens of the science and research investigations that will occur during the space station’s Expeditions 57 and 58. Return to Earth:After about one month attached to the space station, Dragon will return with results of earlier experiments, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California. Payloads on Board:Includes the Robotic Refueling Mission 3, or RRM3, and the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar, or GEDI.
For countdown coverage, NASA’s launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit:
