SpaceX

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.

• Monday, April 29 at 10:30 a.m. – What’s On Board science briefing
• Tuesday, April 30 at 1 p.m. – Prelaunch news conference
• Wednesday, May 1 at 3:30 a.m. – NASA TV launch coverage

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.

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.

For updates during the mission, visit https://www.nasa.gov/commercialresupply.

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.