Tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website to watch the live broadcast of SpaceX’s 23rd commercial resupply services mission launch from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
We are now about 20 minutes away from liftoff of SpaceX’s 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Tune in to NASA TV or the agency’s website, starting now, to watch the broadcast live from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Also, you can stay with us here on the blog, as we bring you live coverage of today’s mission. An instantaneous window opens at approximately 3:14 a.m. EDT. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon spacecraft atop, will lift off from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A, carrying several important NASA investigations.
But there is more than science packed into the spacecraft. Astronauts aboard the space station will be receiving fresh food, including lemons, onions, cherry tomatoes, avocados, and – always a crew favorite – ice cream.
Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting laboratory at approximately 11 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 30. It will join the Crew-2 Dragon spacecraft that carried NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet to the space station on April 24.
Stay tuned as we keep you posted on the latest developments of today’s launch.
When SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket roars off the launch pad from Kennedy Space Center in about 45 minutes, the Dragon spacecraft, set atop the launch vehicle, will be carrying a variety of important of NASA investigations. Here is a look at some of the important science aboard Dragon:
An investigation that will determine if metabolites from grape skins and seeds used in wine making could help prevent and treat osteoporosis
A new robotic arm that could reveal potential uses on Earth, including in disaster relief
Several Girl Scouts’ experiments that will study plants, ants, and brine shrimp in microgravity
About 12 minutes after launch of SpaceX’s 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station, Dragon will separate from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station. Arrival to the station is planned for Monday, Aug. 30, at approximately 11 a.m.
Dragon will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module, with Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA monitoring operations. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with about 4,200 pounds of research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand tall at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A early Sunday morning. Credit: NASA
Let’s try this again! Good morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand ready for liftoff at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. Poor weather in the area caused a scrub of yesterday’s planned 3:37 a.m. EDT launch.
Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 80% chance of favorable weather conditions for this morning’s 3:14 launch from the Space Coast, with the cumulus cloud rule and flight through precipitation serving as the primary weather concerns.
For today’s liftoff, there is an instantaneous launch window. Live countdown begins at 2:45 a.m. – watch on NASA TV or the agency’s website. Also, you can stay right here for live coverage, through spacecraft separation.
The third flight for SpaceX under NASA’s second commercial resupply services contract, and the company’s 23rd overall cargo resupply mission, this mission will deliver more than 4,800 pounds of science experiments and research, crew supplies, and hardware to the International Space Station.
SpaceX and NASA are now targeting liftoff of SpaceX’s 23rd Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station for Sunday, Aug. 29, at 3:14 a.m. Credit: NASA
Due to poor weather conditions in the area for today’s planned launch of SpaceX’s 23rd Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station, SpaceX and NASA are now targeting liftoff on Sunday, Aug. 29, at 3:14 a.m. EDT. Launch coverage, live from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will begin Sunday at 2:45 a.m. on NASA TV, the agency’s website, and the NASA app.
A launch Sunday would lead to docking Monday, Aug. 30, for the Dragon to deliver important research, crew supplies and hardware to the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory. Docking coverage will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the spacecraft planned to arrive at the space station around 11 a.m.
Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for this morning’s launch from the Space Coast, with the cumulus cloud rule and flight through precipitation serving as the primary weather concerns.
NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 3:37 a.m. EDT, to launch its 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew.
Upon Dragon’s arrival – slated for Sunday, Aug. 29, at approximately 11 a.m. – NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will monitor operations while the spacecraft autonomously docks to the orbiting laboratory’s Harmony module.
NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting today at 3:37 a.m. EDT to launch its 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Hello, and good morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida! A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft stand ready for liftoff at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A.
Today’s launch is targeted for 3:37 a.m. EDT, less than an hour away. It is an instantaneous launch window. Live countdown begins at 3:15 a.m. – watch on NASA TV or the agency’s website. Also, you can stay right here for live coverage, through spacecraft separation.
The third flight for SpaceX under NASA’s second Commercial Resupply Services Contract, and the company’s 23rd overall cargo resupply mission, this mission will deliver more than 4,800 pounds of science experiments and research, crew supplies, and hardware to the International Space Station.
Here’s a look at some of today’s countdown and ascent milestones. All times are approximate:
COUNTDOWN Hr/Min/SecEvent – 00:38:00 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for propellant load
– 00:35:00 RP-1 (rocket grade kerosene) loading begins
– 00:35:00 1st stage LOX (liquid oxygen) loading begins
– 00:16:00 2nd stage LOX loading begins
– 00:07:00 Falcon 9 begins pre-launch engine chill
– 00:05:00 Dragon transitions to internal power
– 00:01:00 Command flight computer to begin final prelaunch checks
– 00:01:00 Propellant tanks pressurize for flight
– 00:00:45 SpaceX Launch Director verifies go for launch
– 00:00:03 Engine controller commands ignition sequence to start
– 00:00:00 Falcon 9 liftoff
LAUNCH, LANDING, AND DRAGON DEPLOYMENT Hr/Min/SecEvent 00:01:18 Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:30 1st stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
00:02:34 1st and 2nd stages separate
00:02:41 2nd stage engine starts
00:06:37 1st stage entry burn begins
00:08:38 2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO)
00:08:38 1st stage landing
00:11:49 Dragon separates from 2nd stage
00:12:35 Dragon nosecone open sequence begins
Now, let’s keep our fingers crossed for the weather! That report will be posted here shortly.
NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting Saturday, Aug. 28, to launch its 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX
At noon today, NASA TV will broadcast a prelaunch news conference from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for SpaceX’s 23rd commercial resupply services mission. The event will feature representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program, SpaceX, and the U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 45.
Participants include: Joel Montalbano, manager for the International Space Station Program (remotely from Johnson Space Center in Houston); Jennifer Scott Williams, manager, Applications Client Support Office for the International Space Station Program; Sarah Walker, director, Dragon mission management at SpaceX; and Brian Cizek, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The public can ask questions by using #AskNASA on Twitter. Submitted questions may be answered in real-time during the segment. Immediately following the news conference, NASA TV will air a “What’s on Board” video that will introduce the public to some of the investigators flying science on this mission.
NASA and SpaceX are targeting tomorrow, Aug. 28, at 3:37 a.m. EDT, to launch SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft to the space station. Liftoff, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, will be from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy.
Dragon will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew. Live coverage, starting Saturday at 3:15 a.m. EDT, will air on NASA TV, the NASA app and the agency’s website.
Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for launch tomorrow, Aug. 28, with the cumulus cloud rule, flight through precipitation, and the thick cloud layers rule serving as the primary weather concerns. The forecast is down 10% from Thursday’s favorable weather prediction.
SpaceX’s 23rd contract resupply mission under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA is scheduled to deliver more than 4,800 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station. Launch is targeted for Saturday, with an instantaneous launch window opening at approximately 3:37 a.m. EDT.
About 12 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will separate from the company’s Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station. Arrival to the station is planned for Sunday, Aug. 29. The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
Live coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting today, Aug. 27, at noon. That will be immediately followed by a “What’s on Board” show, which will address some of the important science investigations that will be carried to the space station aboard Dragon.
Beginning Saturday, Aug. 28, at 3:15 a.m., join us here on the blog, or follow along on NASA TV or the agency’s website for the live launch broadcast.
Professor Amilcar Rincón Charris talks to students, from right to left, Jesús Marrero Colón, Wilhem Sánchez Rodríguez, and Carlos Vergara during the process in which the satellite created by them and other students from the Bayamón campus of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico was inspected. Credit: Inter-American University of Puerto Rico
NASA is preparing to launch three small, university-built research satellites aboard SpaceX’s 23rd Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station. This mission, carrying more than 4,800 pounds of cargo, will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Saturday Aug. 28 at 3:37 a.m. EDT.
The small satellites, or CubeSats – built by the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Massachusetts Lowell – comprise NASA’s 37th Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) mission. Each CubeSat measures approximately four inches by four inches by 12 inches and will carry out unique tasks once deployed into low-Earth orbit.
Puerto Rico CubeSat NanoRocks-2 (PR-CuNaR2) is making history as the first CubeSat from Puerto Rico selected for launch by NASA. The small satellite contains millimeter-sized particles that will be mechanically shaken to induce collisions among the particles. The team hopes that results of the collisions might answer questions about how mass, density, composition of particles, and collision velocities contribute to the formation of protoplanetary disks – disks of gas and dust swirling around stars – and planetary ring systems, such as Saturn’s.
The CubeSat was designed and developed by about 25 students from the School of Engineering at the Bayamón campus of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, along with their professor, and principal investigator, Dr. Amilcar Rincón Charris.
Shanice Kelly participates in the Attitude Control Test of SPACE HAUC. Credit: Edwin Aguirre, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Science Program Around Communication Engineering with High Achieving Undergraduate Cadres (SPACE HAUC) is an undergraduate student mission from the University of Massachusetts in Lowell, Massachusetts. SPACE HAUC will demonstrate a student-developed communication system that can quickly transfer large amounts of data. Many CubeSats transfer large data files to ground controllers at 2 to 5 megabits per second. SPACE HAUC aims to increase that speed to about 50 megabits per second using an x-band phased array antenna.
This CubeSat was designed and built over five years and by more than 100 students from the Kennedy College of Sciences and the Francis College of Engineering. Dr. Supriya Chakrabarti, physics professor and director of the Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology, is the principal investigator for this CubeSat mission.
The Cool Annealing Payload Satellite (CAPSat) will demonstrate enabling technology for space-based quantum communications. Credit: Michael Lembeck, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Cool Annealing Payload Satellite (CAPSat) was developed across several departments at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in cooperation with the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. CAPSat will test technology that could enable quantum links in space, which are important for global quantum networks, sensors, and quantum-enhanced telescopes. The demonstration will use a laser to repair single-photon detectors that sense quantum signals.
Over time, photon detectors can become noisy in space due to radiation-induced defects. The laser onboard CAPSat will heat the detector, exciting the atoms in its structure. Once the laser is turned off, the atoms anneal, or settle back into an ordered state, repairing the damage and restoring the detector. The principal investigator, Paul Kwiat, is a professor in the University of Illinois Physics Department.
NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) selected the CubeSats, which were assigned to the ELaNa 37 mission by NASA’s Launch Services Program (LSP) based at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. LSP manages the ELaNa manifest. CSLI provides launch opportunities for small satellite payloads built by universities, high schools, NASA Centers, and non-profit organizations.
To date, NASA has selected 202 CubeSat missions, 119 of which have been launched into space, with 59 more missions scheduled for launch within the next 12 months. The selected CubeSats represent participants from 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 102 unique organizations. CSLI recently released its Announcement of Partnership Opportunity for 2021. Applicants can submit CubeSat proposals until Nov. 19, 2021.
Stay connected with these CubeSat missions on social media by following NASA’s Launch Services Program on Facebook and Twitter.
Shown here is an up-close view of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket after being raised to a vertical position at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 25, 2021, in preparation for the 23rd commercial resupply services launch to the International Space Station. Photo credit: SpaceX
The weather forecast has dipped slightly for the planned Saturday, Aug. 28, launch of SpaceX’s 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station.
Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 50% chance of favorable weather conditions for Saturday’s targeted liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the company’s Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An instantaneous window opens at 3:37 a.m. EDT.
The primary weather concerns are cumulus cloud rule and flight through precipitation. The most recent forecast represents a 10% drop in favorable conditions from Wednesday’s predicted launch weather.
Dragon will be filled with supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 65 and 66. Upon Dragon’s arrival – slated for Sunday, Aug. 29 – NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur will monitor operations while the spacecraft autonomously docks to the orbiting laboratory’s Harmony module.
Beginning Saturday at 3:15 a.m. EDT, join us here on the blog for live coverage, and follow along on NASA TV or the agency’s website for the live launch broadcast.
An experiment to test an implantable, remote-controlled 
NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 3:37 a.m. EDT, to launch its 23rd commercial resupply services mission to the 
