SpaceX Dragon CRS-3 (SUCCESSFUL FIRST STAGE LANDING !!!!)

[Dr Mordrid]

Dragon CRS-3 now NET March 16 at ~4:41 AM Eastern. Exact launch window soon.

Secondary launch dates in case of a scrub are March 17, 19 and 20.

Delayed from Feb 22 and March 1 because of eastern US weather issues (snow, ice, winds) preventing the F9 first stage from being shipped and a busy Visiting Vehicle schedule at ISS. No rocket/payload issues, just a wicked winter.

Primary payloads:

* miscellaneous experiments, consumables and supplies for the ISS. Inside Dragon.

* Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS), a high-bandwidth space to ground laser communications device for ISS. In the trunk.

* High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV), which is to assess commercial HD hardwares ability to function in the LEO environment. It will also provide live video streaming over the internet. In the trunk.

Secondary payloads (deployed by Falcon 9 upper stage):

* KickSat CubeSat, which will deploy 250 (!!) KickSat Sprite picosatellites

* ALL-STAR/THEIA, a 3U cubesat from the Colorado Space Grant Consortium (CoSGC) and Lockheed Martin

* TechCube 1, a 3U CubeSat from NASA Goddard

* LMRSat (Low Mass Radio Science Transponder Satellite), a 2U CubeSat from JPL

* Hermes-2, a 1U CubeSat from the Colorado Space Grant Consortium (CoSGC)



OPALS


HDEV

[Dr Mordrid]

'She's got LEGS....'
-- ZZ Top

Elon Musk (@elonmusk) tweeted at 8:37pm - 23 Feb 14:

However, F9 will continue to land in the ocean until we prove precision control from hypersonic thru subsonic regimes (https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/437763077753147392)


Elon Musk (@elonmusk) tweeted at 8:32pm - 23 Feb 14:

Mounting landing legs (~60 ft span) to Falcon 9 for next month's Space Station servicing flight pic.twitter.com/zyfazr2BB2 (https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/437761896028975104)

[Dr Mordrid]

Recovery tech concepts: Falcon 9 Dragon, Falcon 9 Cargo and Falcon Heavy Cargo with stage landing legs,

f9-fh.jpg

[Dr Mordrid]

LiveStream coverage usually starts about 30 min before launch,

https://new.livestream.com/spacex

March 5, 2014

MEDIA ADVISORY M14-040

NASA Coverage Set for March 16 SpaceX Mission to Space Station

The next SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch Sunday, March 16, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The company's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying its Dragon cargo capsule, will lift off at 4:41 a.m. EDT. NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 3:45 a.m. If for any reason the launch is postponed, the next launch opportunity is Monday, March 17 at 4:19 a.m., with NASA TV coverage beginning at 3:15 a.m.

The mission, designated SpaceX-3, is the third of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. It will be the fourth trip by a Dragon capsule to the orbiting laboratory.

The capsule will be filled with almost 5,000 pounds of scientific experiments and supplies. The Dragon will remain attached to the space station's Harmony module for more than three weeks, and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California on April 17 with more than 3,500 pounds of experiment samples and equipment returning from the station.

NASA will host a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 15, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by a SpaceX science and technology cargo news conference at 2 p.m. Both briefings will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website.

If launch occurs March 16, NASA TV will provide live coverage Tuesday, March 18, of the arrival of the Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. Grapple and berthing coverage will begin at 5:45 a.m., with grapple at 7 a.m. Berthing coverage begins at 9:30 a.m.

Media may request accreditation to attend the prelaunch news conferences and launch online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

The deadline for U.S. media to apply for accreditation is March 10. The deadline has passed for international media to apply.

Media credentials will be valid for mission activities from launch through splashdown at Kennedy and at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

For more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598.

For an updated schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage items, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/1dsh9dp

For NASA TV schedule and video streaming information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For video b-roll and other International Space Station media resources, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews

For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog and more information about the mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacex

For more information about the International Space Station, research in low-Earth orbit, NASA's commercial space programs and the future of American spaceflight, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

[Dr Mordrid]

SpaceX confirms there was a successful hotfire engine test today!

[Dr Mordrid]

Mission patch


Landing legs on the pad


Hotfire!

[Dr Mordrid]

Now that the range radar issue has been resolved we have a new launch date for Dragon CRS-3

April 14, 1658 Local (4:58 PM Eastern)

[Dr Mordrid]

April 4, 2014

NASA Coverage Set for SpaceX Mission to Space Station

The next SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch Monday, April 14, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The company's Falcon 9 rocket, carrying its Dragon cargo spacecraft, will lift off at approximately 4:58 p.m. EDT. NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 3:45 p.m. If for any reason the launch is postponed, the next launch opportunity is Friday, April 18 at approximately 3:25 p.m.

The mission, designated SpaceX-3, is the third of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. It will be the fourth trip by a Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory.

The spacecraft will be filled with almost 5,000 pounds of scientific experiments and supplies. The Dragon will remain attached to the space station's Harmony module until mid-May and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California with more than 3,000 pounds of experiment samples and equipment returning from the station.

NASA will host a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m., Sunday, April 13, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, followed by a SpaceX science and technology cargo news conference at 2 p.m. Both briefings, which are subject to a change in time, will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website. A post-launch briefing will be held approximately 90 minutes after launch.

If launch occurs April 14, NASA TV will provide live coverage Wednesday, April 16, of the arrival of the Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. Grapple and berthing coverage will begin at 5:45 a.m. with grapple at approximately 7 a.m. Berthing coverage begins at 9:30 a.m.

Media may request accreditation to attend the prelaunch news conferences, events and launch online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

The deadline for U.S. media to apply for accreditation is April 9. The deadline has passed for international media to apply.

Media credentials will be valid for mission activities from launch through splashdown at Kennedy and at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

For more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598.

For an updated schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage items, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/1dsh9dp

For NASA TV schedule and video streaming information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For video b-roll and other International Space Station media resources, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews

For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog and more information about the mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacex

For more information about the International Space Station, research in low-Earth orbit, NASA's commercial space programs and the future of American spaceflight, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

[Dr Mordrid]

http://www.spacex.com/webcast/

Dragon got a few upgrades since its last trip to station.

To support more critical science payloads for the ISS, the spacecraft flying on Monday has nearly four times its previous powered cargo capability. Dragon will carry additional freezers in its pressurized section and for the first time ever, powered cargo inside its unpressurized trunk; NASAs OPALS and HDEV experiments. The spacecraft is also sporting redesigned cargo racks to accommodate the additional payloads.

Read more about OPALS at

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/st...ments/861.html

read more about HDEV at

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/st...ments/917.html

and watch the launch LIVE right here on Monday 4/14!

[Dr Mordrid]

An urgent late cargo load has taken place; thermal interface materials for replacing the faulty backup robotic arm MDM (modulator-demodulator) on ISS were flown to Florida last minute and loaded into Dragon's pressurized cargo. The faulty MDM will be replaced during a spacewalk after Dragon's arrival.

They're also flying a new spacesuit to replace the one that leaked water a few months ago.

SpaceX VP for Mission Assurance Hans Koenigsmann said the first stage entry burn will happen 7-8 minutes after launch. Stage1 will be touching down at about the time Stage 2 achieves orbit. The legs will deploy shortly after the start of the landing burn. There will be a recovery boat in the area, but it may be too far away to capture touchdown on video.

Two aircraft will be monitoring the Stage 1 supersonic retropropulsion reentry and landing attempt; one from SpaceX and one from NASA. The NASA intetest is because while there is a lot of theory about supersonic retropropulsion there have been few experiments, and SpaceX's F9R tests will be the largest scale experiments by far. Supersonc retropropulsion is a very important tech for manned and large size robotic Mars missions.

F9 legs


Camera pod pointing at leg?


Detail of leg attachments

[Dr Mordrid]

@collectSPACE
A rainbow forms behind @SpaceX's #CRS3 Falcon 9 at LC-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., April 14, 2014.pic.twitter.com/vhER3AOZ26

(Pic at bottom)

SpaceX ‏@SpaceX**
Falcon 9 and Dragon have gone vertical in advance of today’s launch to the ISS! Liftoff @ 4:58pm ET.

Press kit (pdf)....

Today, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are set to launch the CRS-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA. Liftoff is targeted for 4:58pm EDT from SpaceX’s Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Dragon will be loaded with nearly 5,000 pounds of supplies and science experiments bound for the ISS, and if all goes according to plan, the spacecraft will berth with the station around 7:00am EDT on Wednesday April 16th. A full mission press kit is attached.

SpaceX’s live launch webcast will begin at 4:20pm EDT atwww.spacex.com/webcast.

Photos are available atwww.spacex.com/media, and videos will be made available after the launch at vimeo.com/spacexlaunch.

[Dr Mordrid]

[Dr Mordrid]

SCRUBBED!!

From SpaceX:

CRS-3 Update

Today’s launch has been scrubbed due to a Helium leak on Falcon 9’s first stage. A fix will be implemented by the next launch opportunity on Friday April 18, though weather on that date isn’t ideal. Check back here for updates.

[Dr Mordrid]

Next launch window: April 18 at 15:25 Local (EDT)

[Dr Mordrid]

F9 rolled out and put vertical. Powered up. Propellant load started at 1147 Local EDT (1547 GMT).

Weather is iffy, and alternate launch dates have been.set for April 19, 22, and 25 because NASA really needs the replacement MDM hardware at ISS ASAP so the repairs can commence.

Musk noted that because of the triple-redundant avionics, you could put a bullet into one of the avionics boxes and keep flying.