SpaceX

The Dragon spacecraft launching today will be the seventh to reach the International Space Station. That includes the first flight test mission which did not carry supplies but proved the unpiloted system could work. With that accomplished, Dragon began making operational resupply flights to the orbiting laboratory. CRS-6, launching today, would be the sixth of those flights.

The spacecraft itself is 14.4 feet tall and 12 feet in diameter. The trunk, which supports the Dragon’s twin solar arrays, is 9.2 feet tall.

The launch team is currently overseeing the loading of propellants into the Falcon 9 rocket’s first and second stage. The nine Merlin engines on the first stage and single Merlin engine on the second stage operate on a mixture of liquid oxygen and refined kerosene.

The Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon spacecraft have to liftoff precisely at 4:33 and 16 seconds this afternoon in order to take up the chase of the International Space Station to deliver more than 2 tons of equipment and supplies. Managers are not working any technical issues and the current weather conditions are ‘go.’ If that time cannot be made, the launch team will have to wait until Tuesday.

 

Good afternoon from Florida! Launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is on track for 4:33:16 p.m. EDT today and the weather outlook remains 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time.

The rocket stands pointed to space out at the launch pad and we are following the countdown for the launch of the sixth commercial resupply mission by SpaceX to the International Space Station. The company’s Dragon spacecraft is loaded with some 4,300 pounds of experiments, equipment and supplies for the station crew.

We’ll detail the countdown milestones as they happen today and share some of the science being carried up to the station that makes this flight off the Earth a valuable experience for the Earth.

Good morning from Kennedy Space Center in Florida where a research equipment-and-cargo-laden Dragon spacecraft is being readied to head off the Earth so International Space Station astronauts can conduct science for the Earth as well as the Journey to Mars. Launch time today is 4:33 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station adjacent to Kennedy. The launch window is instantaneous for the Falcon 9 rocket that will loft the Dragon into space on course for the station. Both the rocket and spacecraft are products of SpaceX.

The weather remains the primary concern for today with the most recent report calling for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. Our continuous countdown coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. EDT, with NASA TV’s commentary beginning at the same time. You can watch NASA TV here on the Launch Blog or log on at www.nasa.gov/ntv.  Thanks for checking in!

U.S. Air Force 45^th Weather Squadron forecasters continue to predict a 60 percent of favorable conditions for the launch of SpaceX CRS-6 on Monday, April 13. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for exactly 4:33:15 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Launch coverage on NASA television will begin Monday at 3:30 p.m.

Today NASA will host a prelaunch briefing and two panel discussions to preview some of the 40 science and research investigations that will be directly supported by the critical cargo the sixth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission will deliver to the International Space Station. NASA Television will provide live coverage and streaming Internet coverage at https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv.

1:30-2:30 p.m. – ISS Research and Technology Panel
3:30-4:30 p.m. – ISS National Lab Panel
5-6 p.m. – Prelaunch News Conference

Monday, April 13, is launch day for SpaceX’s sixth operational cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station and we will be here at Kennedy to cover all the countdown milestones through liftoff and ascent into orbit as they occur! Launch is slated for 4:33 p.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Our continuous countdown coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. EDT here on the NASA Launch Blog and on NASA TV. We’ll also highlight details of the mission which is taking vital experiments, equipment and payloads for the crew of the station so they can continue their important research off the Earth, for the Earth. NASA TV will also show a series of prelaunch briefings live on Sunday detailing scientific aspects of the cargo being taken to the orbiting laboratory. Here’s a quick rundown of the schedule, but you can read a more detailed explanation of coverage and briefing plans here.

Sunday

1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. EDT – Science and research panel discussions

5 p.m. – Prelaunch news conference

Monday

3:30 p.m. – NASA TV and Launch Blog countdown coverage begins

4:33 p.m. – Liftoff of SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon on CRS-6

See you then!