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Wikipedia dixit:

“Carrying several tons of supplies and scientific experiments, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station on February 23 following its launch atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the refurbished Launch Pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Following the arrival […], the station crew used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture the Dragon. Ground controllers then sent commands for the robot arm to maneuver the vehicle to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module where it was installed and bolted into place. The Dragon will spend about a month at the space station while the crew unloads the almost 5,500 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments delivered by the Dragon.”

Video credit: NASA

 

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02-19-17

SpaceX CRS-10 Launch

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Wikipedia dixit:

“SpaceX CRS-10, also known as SpX-10 or simply CRS-10, is a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The mission was contracted by NASA and was launched by SpaceX aboard a Dragon spacecraft on 19 February 2017. The mission is currently active, with the Dragon spacecraft in orbit adjusting and preparing for docking to the ISS, which is expected between 21 February and 22 February 2017. CRS-10 is part of the original order of twelve missions awarded to SpaceX under the Commercial Resupply Services contract. As of June 2016, a NASA Inspector General report had this mission manifested for November 2016. The launch was put on hold pending investigation of the pad explosion in September 2016, with a tentative date no earlier than January 2017, subsequently set for 18 February.

CRS-10 was launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 Pad A, the first launch from the complex since STS-135 on 8 July 2011, the last flight of the Space Shuttle program; this complex is also where the Apollo missions were launched. On 12 February 2017, SpaceX successfully completed a static fire test of the Falcon 9 engines on Pad 39A. An initial launch attempt on 18 February 2017 was scrubbed 13 seconds before its 15:01 UTC launch due to a thrust vector control system issue, resulting in a 24-hour hold for launch no earlier than 19 February at 14:38:59 UTC.

Following the successful Launch on 19 February, the first stage returned and landed safely in landing Zone 1.

NASA has contracted for the CRS-10 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. CRS-10 is expected to carry 1,530 kg (3,373.1 lb) of pressurized mass and 960 kg (2,116.4 lb) unpressurized. External payloads on the CRS-10 spacecraft are the SAGE III Earth observation experiment and its Nadir Viewing Platform (NVP), and the U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Test Program H5 (STP-H5) package, including the Raven navigation investigation and the Lightning Imaging Sensor. Some science payloads include ACME, LMM Biophysics, ZBOT, and CIR/Cool Flames.”

Video credit: SpaceX

 

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NASA dixit:

“The SpaceX CRS-9 Dragon cargo craft departed the International Space Station Aug. 26 after five weeks at the complex. Dragon delivered critical science experiments and the first International Docking Adapter to which U.S. commercial spacecraft will link up to in the future. Using the Canadarm2 robotic arm, Expedition 48 Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Kate Rubins released the Dragon and monitored the resupply spacecraft as it backed away to a safe distance from the station for its deorbit engine firing that would enable the ship to enter the Earth’s atmosphere for a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California. Dragon returned about one and a half tons of science experiments and other cargo that will be collected once it reaches port in Long Beach, California. Dragon launched July 18 atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and arrived at the station July 20.”

Video credit: NASA

 

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NASA dixit:

“The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket on July 18 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida, carrying science research, crew supplies and hardware in support of the Expedition 48 and 49 crew aboard the International Space Station. About 10 minutes after launch, Dragon reached its preliminary orbit, deployed its solar arrays and began a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to begin its two-day journey to the station. […]

On July 20, two days after launching from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida , the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station, carrying science research, crew supplies and hardware in support of the station’s Expedition 48 and 49 crews. NASA astronaut Jeff Williams used the station’s robotic arm, which he controlled from the station’s cupola, to capture the Dragon. Ground controllers in Houston then sent commands instructing the robot arm to install Dragon on the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony module. During the next five weeks, crew members will unload the spacecraft and reload it with cargo to return to Earth. About five-and-a-half hours after it departs the station Aug. 29, it will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.”

Video credit: NASA

 

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NASA dixit:

“The U.S. SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station April 10, two days after its launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida Loaded with some three and a half tons of supplies and experiments including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), Dragon will remain attached to Harmony for a month. For the first time, Dragon is occupying a port next door to the U.S. Orbital ATK Cygnus commercial cargo vehicle, which was berthed to the Unity module on March 26.”

Video credit: NASA

 

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04-10-16

SpaceX CRS-8 Launch

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SpaceX dixit:

“SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the Dragon spacecraft to low Earth orbit to deliver critical cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA. SpaceX is targeting an afternoon launch of its eighth Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-8) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The instantaneous launch window opens on April 8th at 8:43pm UTC, and a backup launch window opens at 8:20pm UTC on April 9th. Dragon will be deployed about 10 minutes after liftoff and attach to the ISS about two days after launch. Following stage separation, the first stage of the Falcon 9 will attempt an experimental landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.”

Video credit: SpaceX

 

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