Month: June 2022

NASA, SpaceX Target New Launch Date for Commercial Cargo Mission

The pressurized capsule of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply ship with its nose cone open is pictured as the vehicle departs the International Space Station on Jan. 23, 2022.
The pressurized capsule of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply ship with its nose cone open is pictured as the vehicle departs the International Space Station on Jan. 23, 2022.

NASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than Thursday, July 14, for launch of the CRS-25 commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The new target launch date supports ongoing Dragon spacecraft inspections as well as repair and replacement of any components that could have degraded by exposure to mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) vapor found during testing in early June. In order to allow a more detailed off-vehicle inspection of the parachutes, the SpaceX team made the decision to replace the main parachutes on this spacecraft.

The new date also allows for launch of the uncrewed cargo mission for the earliest possible rendezvous opportunity with the International Space Station following the upcoming high-beta angle period when the sun angle with space station’s orbital plane causes problems with thermal and power generation at the microgravity laboratory in the planned docking attitude for visiting spacecraft.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on Twitter, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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NASA to Highlight Climate Research on Cargo Launch, Sets TV Coverage

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and uncrewed Dragon spacecraft stand ready for liftoff at Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A for the company's 24th cargo resupply services mission.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:07 a.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021, carrying the Dragon spacecraft on its journey to the International Space Station for SpaceX’s 24th commercial resupply services mission. Photo credit: SpaceX

Editor’s Note: As of Monday, June 6, NASA and SpaceX are no longer targeting Friday, June 10, for launch, and these events are not current. A new advisory will be provided later. Follow the latest mission updates on the agency’s International Space Station blog.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 10:22 a.m. EDT Friday, June 10, to launch the agency’s next investigation to monitor climate change to the International Space Station. Flying aboard SpaceX’s 25th commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory is NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT).

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew, including a new climate research investigation.

Live coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Thursday, June 9.

Dragon will carry more than 4,500 pounds of cargo, including a variety of NASA investigations like EMIT, which will identify the composition of mineral dust from Earth’s arid regions and analyze dust carried through the atmosphere from deserts to see what effects it has on the planet, further advancing NASA’s data contributions to monitoring climate change.

To read the full advisory, click here.