posted 04-11-2015 08:13 PM               

SpaceX CRS-6 Mission Overview

After six missions to the International Space Station, including five official resupply missions for NASA, SpaceX is preparing to launch its sixth Commercial Resupply (CRS) mission to the orbiting lab.

SpaceX's CRS-6 mission will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

If all goes as planned, Dragon will arrive at the station two days after lifting off. Dragon is expected to return to Earth four weeks later for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of California.

Background and purpose

CRS-6 (SpX-6) is the sixth of at least 12 missions that SpaceX will fly under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.

In December 2008, NASA announced that SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft had been selected to resupply the space station after the end of the shuttle program in 2011. Under the CRS contract, SpaceX has restored an American capability to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including live plants and animals, to and from the orbiting laboratory.

Cargo

Dragon is filled with more than 4,300 pounds (1,950 kg) of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support about 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 43 and 44. Science payloads will investigate new ways to possibly counteract the microgravity-induced cell damage, gather new insight that could lead to treatments for osteoporosis and muscle wasting conditions, continue studies into astronaut vision changes and test a new material that could one day be used as a synthetic muscle for robotics explorers of the future.

The mission also delivers ISSpresso, an espresso maker that crew members can use to make tea, coffee, broth or other hot beverages, as well as specially designed space cups as part of a capillary beverage study, an improvement to the standard drinking pouch with a straw.

Dragon will return with about 3,600 pounds (1,635 kg) of cargo, which includes crew supplies, hardware and computer resources, science experiments, space station hardware, and trash.

posted 04-11-2015 08:18 PM               

Static fire engine test completed today (April 11) in advance of Monday's launch attempt to the International Space Station.

The CRS-6 launch is targeted for 4:33 p.m. EDT (2033 GMT).

posted 04-14-2015 03:21 PM               

SpaceX Dragon launches to space station with cargo and coffee maker

The launch of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft Tuesday (April 14) means that the International Space Station is now just three days away from receiving a long-desired addition for its crew: a real coffee machine.

The ISSpresso, a commercially-designed espresso maker flying on behalf of the Italian Space Agency, is among the 4,300 pounds (1,950 kilograms) of supplies and payloads the Dragon is delivering to the orbiting outpost. The flight is SpaceX's sixth space station resupply run flown under a $1.6 billion NASA contract.

The Dragon lifted off at 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT) atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. After a 10 minute ascent to orbit, the Dragon capsule separated from the Falcon's second stage and deployed its solar arrays to begin the two-day rendezvous with the space station.

posted 04-17-2015 07:24 AM               

Dragon captured at space station

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft arrived in the vicinity of the International Space Station on Friday morning (April 17), two days after launching to the orbiting laboratory with cargo and supplies for the Expedition 43 crew.

Flight engineer Samantha Cristoforetti, assisted by commander Terry Virts, successfully captured the Dragon using the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 5:55 a.m. CDT (1055 GMT) as the station and spacecraft were traveling 257 statue miles over the Pacific Ocean just east of Japan.

Flight controllers in Houston then used the robotic arm to berth the Dragon to the station's Harmony node at 8:29 a.m. CDT.

posted 05-21-2015 07:51 AM               

Dragon departs space station, return to Earth

SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft was released by the International Space Station's robotic arm at 6:04 a.m. CDT (1104 GMT) Thursday (May 21).

The CRS-6 Dragon is returning to Earth with more than 3,100 pounds (1,400 kilograms) of NASA cargo and science samples from human research, biology and biotechnology studies, as well as physical science investigations and education activities sponsored by NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the nonprofit organization responsible for managing research aboard the U.S. national laboratory portion of the space station.

Update: The cargo-laden capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 11:42 a.m. CDT, off the coast of Long Beach, California.

See here for discussion of SpaceX's sixth Dragon CRS flight to the ISS.