Category: Uncategorized

During SpaceX’s 14th Commercial Resupply Services Mission to the International Space Station for NASA, the Dragon spacecraft is packed with more than 5,800 pounds of supplies, equipment and several science investigations for the crew aboard the station.

Among the science experiments are:

Capturing Sprites and Elves
The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) surveys severe thunderstorms in Earth’s atmosphere and upper-atmospheric lightning, or transient luminous events, from its perch on the exterior of the European Space Agency (ESA) Columbus module. These include sprites, flashes caused by electrical break-down in the mesosphere; the blue jet, a discharge from cloud tops upward into the stratosphere; and ELVES, concentric rings of emissions caused by an electromagnetic pulse in the ionosphere.

Metal Powder Fabrication
The NASA Sample Cartridge Assembly (MSL SCA-GEDS-German) experiment determines underlying scientific principles for a fabrication process known as liquid phase sintering, in microgravity and Earth-gravity conditions. On Earth, liquid phase sintering works like building a sandcastle with just-wet-enough sand. Heating a powder forms interparticle bonds and formation of a liquid phase accelerates this solidification, creating a rigid structure. But in microgravity, settling of powder grains does not occur and larger pores form, creating more porous and distorted samples than Earth-based sintering.

Testing Materials in Space
The Materials International Space Station Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) provides a unique platform for testing how materials, coatings and components react in the harsh environment of space, which includes exposure to ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, atomic oxygen, charged particles, thermal cycles, electromagnetic radiation and micro-meteoroids. The testing benefits a variety of industries, including automotive, aeronautics, energy, space, and transportation.

Patching up Wounds
Wound Healing tests a patch containing an antimicrobial hydrogel that promotes healing of a wound while acting as a scaffold for regenerating tissue. Reduced fluid motion in microgravity allows more precise analysis of the hydrogel behavior and controlled release of the antibiotic from the patch. This novel patch could serve as a non-surgical treatment for military combat wounds and reduce sepsis, or systemic inflammation, usually caused by contamination of an open wound.

Drug Development in Space
Comparative Real-time Metabolic Activity Tracking for Improved Therapeutic Assessment Screening Panels examines effects of microgravity on the metabolic impact of five different therapeutic compounds, evaluating the use of autobioluminescent human tissue culture for continuous tracking of metabolic activity without destroying the sample. This investigation determines the feasibility of developing improved pharmaceuticals in microgravity using a new method to test the metabolic impacts of drug compounds. This could lead to more effective, less expensive drugs.

Read more about Science Launching on Next Resupply Mission at: https://go.nasa.gov/2Isu6rt

A Falcon 9 rocket is being loaded with propellants in preparation for liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40, to boost a SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EDT, for its 14th commercial resupply services mission to the space station.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 is 230 feet-tall and has two-stages topped by the company’s unpiloted Dragon spacecraft. The rocket’s first stage is powered by nine Merlin engines that ignite at T-0. Its second stage has a single Merlin engine that takes over after separation of the first stage. The engines run on a combination of super-cold liquid oxygen and the fuel, RP-1 — highly refined kerosene.

Installed atop the rocket, the 20-foot tall and 12-foot diameter Dragon spacecraft is loaded with cargo bound for the space station. The Dragon offers a pressurized section as well as an unpressurized “trunk” section for additional cargo. Also located in the trunk are the spacecraft’s power-producing solar arrays, which will open shortly after Dragon arrives in orbit.

Photo credit: NASA

Good afternoon from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are being prepared for liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff is targeted for 4:30 p.m. EDT today, with an instantaneous launch window. That means the launch must take place precisely on time in order to reach the orbit of the International Space Station.

The official weather forecast from the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Air Force Base calls for an 80 percent chance for favorable conditions for launch today. The primary launch weather concerns are flight through precipitation and cumulus clouds with the showers.

Today’s launch is a cross-country effort. Launch controllers here at the Florida spaceport are working in concert with teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and SpaceX’s control center in Hawthorne, California.

This launch blog originates from the NASA News Center, a few miles west of the launch pad, here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the premier multi-user spaceport.

There’s more to come, so stay with us.

Image credit: NASA

A Dragon spacecraft is poised for liftoff atop a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40. The launch vehicle will boost the resupply capsule on its 14th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX’s Dragon will deliver supplies and equipment supporting numerous science investigations for the crew working aboard the orbiting laboratory. Liftoff is scheduled for today at 4:30 p.m. EDT.

Be sure to join us here at 3:55 p.m. EDT to follow this live blog-cast during the last stages of the countdown and early portions of flight. You also may follow the countdown on NASA Television (https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive) beginning at 4 p.m. EDT for updates.

Read more about the Falcon 9 rocket  and the Dragon spacecraft.

Photo credit: NASA

Preparations continue as NASA’s commercial cargo provider, SpaceX, is getting ready to launch its 14th resupply mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. EDT Monday, April 2.

Weather forecasters with the U.S. Air Force’s 45th weather squadron at Patrick Air Force Base call for a 80 percent chance for favorable conditions for launch. The primary launch weather concerns are flight through precipitation and cumulus clouds with the showers.

Packed with almost 5,800 pounds of research material, 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.

You may follow the prelaunch briefings and the countdown taking place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on NASA Television at: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Today, April 1
2:30 p.m. – What’s on Board science briefing
4 p.m. – Prelaunch news conference with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program, SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing.

Monday, April 2
4 p.m. – Launch coverage begins for liftoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m. – Post launch news conference at Kennedy with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program and SpaceX.

For the latest schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/content/spacex-crs-14-briefings-and-events/

Learn more about the SpaceX resupply mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the company’s 14th resupply mission to the International Space Station scheduled for liftoff at 4:30 p.m. EDT, Monday, April 2.

Packed with almost 5,800 pounds of research material, 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.

The official weather forecast from the U.S. Air Force’s 45th weather squadron at Patrick Air Force Base calls for an 80 percent chance for favorable conditions for launch. The primary launch weather concerns are flight through precipitation and cumulus clouds with the showers.

You may follow the prelaunch briefings and the countdown taking place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on NASA Television at: https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Sunday, April 1
2:30 p.m. EDT – What’s on Board science briefing
4 p.m. EDT – Prelaunch news conference with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program, SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing.

Monday, April 2
4 p.m. EDT – Launch coverage begins for liftoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
6:30 p.m. EDT – Post launch news conference at Kennedy with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program and SpaceX.

For the latest schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/content/spacex-crs-14-briefings-and-events/

Learn more about the SpaceX resupply mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

Next Commercial Resupply Services Mission: SpaceX CRS-14
Launch Time and Date: 4:30 p.m., Monday, April 2, 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 cargo and material to support science investigations aboard the International Space Station.
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: https://go.nasa.gov/2Isu6rt

Preparations continue for the launch of the next SpaceX delivery of supplies and equipment, including science investigations, to the International Space Station. Launch currently is targeted for no earlier than 4:30 p.m. EDT April 2 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

A Dragon cargo spacecraft, previously flown on SpaceX’s eighth commercial resupply mission to the space station, will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket and includes the first stage booster previously flown on the company’s 12th resupply mission. This is the second SpaceX resupply mission for NASA using both a reused spacecraft and booster.

NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT Monday, March 19, to discuss a number of science investigations and instruments included in the 5,800 pounds the Dragon will deliver to the orbiting laboratory. Audio of the teleconference will stream live on NASA’s website.

To participate in the teleconference, media must contact Stephanie Schierholz at 202-358-1100 or stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov by 5 p.m. Friday, March 16, for dial-in information.

Reporters can still apply for credentials to cover the launch of SpaceX CRS-14 from Florida, but the deadlines to apply are next Monday and Friday. Prelaunch and launch activities will take place at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and the Cape. Full details and credentialing deadlines are in the media advisory.

For launch countdown coverage and more information about the mission, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Sandra Joseph

Several thousand pounds of supplies, equipment and experiments are on their way to the crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory. Dragon reached its preliminary orbit and its solar arrays have been deployed. A series of thruster firings are scheduled to allow the Dragon spacecraft to rendezvous with the space station on Dec. 17. Installation coverage is set to begin at 7:30 a.m. Watch it live at www.nasa.gov/live.

NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba 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 one month attached to the space station, returning to Earth in mid-January with results of previous experiments.

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 8:12 a.m. EDT, west of Baja California and the recovery process is underway, marking the end of the company’s eleventh contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA.

Expedition 52 astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson of NASA released the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station’s robotic arm right on schedule, at 2:41 a.m.

A variety of technological and biological studies are returning in Dragon. The Fruit Fly Lab-02 experiment seeks to better understand the effects of prolonged exposure to microgravity on the heart. Flies are small, with a well-known genetic make-up, and age rapidly, making them good models for heart function studies. This experiment could significantly advance understanding of how spaceflight affects the cardiovascular system and could help develop countermeasures to help astronauts.

Samples from the Systemic Therapy of NELL-1 for osteoporosis will return as part of an investigation using rodents as models to test a new drug that can both rebuild bone and block further bone loss, improving crew health. When people and animals spend extended periods of time in space, they experience bone density loss, or osteoporosis. In-flight countermeasures, such as exercise, prevent it from getting worse, but there isn’t a therapy on Earth or in space that can restore bone density. The results from this ISS National Laboratory-sponsored investigation is built on previous research also supported by the National Institutes for Health and could lead to new drugs for treating bone density loss in millions of people on Earth.

The Cardiac Stem Cells experiment investigated how microgravity affects stem cells and the factors that govern stem cell activity. The study focuses on understanding cardiac stem cell function, which has numerous biomedical and commercial applications. Scientists will also look to apply new knowledge to the design of new stem cell therapies to treat heart disease on Earth.

The Dragon spacecraft launched June 3 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and arrived at the station June 5.

Keep up with the International Space Station, and its research and crew members, at www.nasa.gov/station

Get breaking news, images, videos and features from the station on social media at: https://www.facebook.com/ISS, http://instagram.com/iss and http://www.twitter.com/Space_Station