Topic: SpaceX Dragon CRS-13 flight to space station
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-28-2017 02:59 PM
SpaceX CRS-13 Mission Overview
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the CRS-13 Dragon spacecraft to low-Earth orbit to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station for NASA.
The 13th flight under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract with SpaceX, CRS-13 will deliver more than 4,800 pounds (2,200 kg) of research, supplies and hardware for the space station's Expedition 53/54 crews, including:
Made in Space's Fiber Optics payload, which will test manufacturing fiber optic filaments in a microgravity environment;
LaunchPad Medical's investigation using synthetic bone material to accelerate bone repair;
NASA’s Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS), a new instrument that will measure the Sun’s energy input to Earth, and Space Debris Sensor, an external tool which will measure the orbital debris environment around the space station;
Budweiser's Barley Germination and Malting in Microgravity experiment, which will explore the effects of spaceflight on the germination of strains of barley (Hordeum vulgare), including proprietary strains under development.
Following separation, the Falcon 9's first stage will return to SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
CRS-13 is the first launch of a Dragon on a flight-proven Falcon 9 first stage. The booster previously launched SpaceX's CRS-11 mission in June 2017. The CRS-13 Dragon earlier flew on CRS-6 in 2015.
The launch will be the first from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida since the pad was damaged by a failed static fire in September 2016.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-28-2017 03:03 PM
NASA update
NASA and our commercial cargo provider SpaceX are targeting the 13th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for no earlier than 1:20 p.m. EST Friday, Dec. 8. This new launch date will allow SpaceX to finalize pad readiness, and provide an additional launch opportunity Saturday, Dec. 9, if needed.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-06-2017 07:48 AM
NASA update
NASA and our commercial cargo provider SpaceX are targeting no earlier than Dec. 12 at 11:46 a.m. EST for their 13th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. This new launch date takes into account pad readiness, requirements for science payloads, space station crew availability, and orbital mechanics.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-11-2017 08:51 PM
From NASA on Twitter:
NASA and SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than 11:24 a.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 13th, for the company's 13th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX requested additional time for prelaunch ground systems checks.
328KF Member
Posts: 1234 From: Registered: Apr 2008
posted 12-11-2017 08:55 PM
Too many 13's for my taste. Best of luck SpaceX!
SpaceAngel Member
Posts: 307 From: Maryland Registered: May 2010
posted 12-12-2017 06:31 PM
I read from Twitter not too long ago that the launch has been pushed to Friday; is there any confirmation about it?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-12-2017 06:32 PM
NASA update
NASA and SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than 10:35 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 15th, for the company's 13th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX is taking additional time for the team to conduct full inspections and cleanings due to detection of particles in second stage fuel system. Next launch opportunity would be no earlier than late December.
GACspaceguy Member
Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
posted 12-12-2017 09:09 PM
Looks like tonight's drive to Titusville is turning into a KSC quick visit and back home.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-15-2017 08:50 AM
SpaceX live webcast
SpaceX is targeting launch of the Commercial Resupply Services 13 (CRS-13) mission from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force station in Florida for 9:35 a.m. EST, or 1535 UTC, on Friday, Dec. 15, 2017.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-15-2017 10:55 AM
NASA release
NASA Sends New Research to Space Station Aboard SpaceX Resupply Mission
An experiment in space manufacturing and an enhanced study of solar energy are among the research currently heading to the International Space Station following Friday's launch of a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at 10:36 a.m. EST.
Dragon lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with more than 4,800 pounds of research equipment, cargo and supplies that will support dozens of the more than 250 investigations aboard the space station.
NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba will use the space station's robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will air on NASA Television and the agency's website beginning at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 17. Installation coverage is set to begin at 7:30 a.m.
Research materials flying inside Dragon's pressurized area include an investigation demonstrating the benefits of manufacturing fiber optic filaments in a microgravity environment. Designed by the company Made in Space, and sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), the investigation will attempt to pull fiber optic wire from ZBLAN, a heavy metal fluoride glass commonly used to make fiber optic glass. Results from this investigation could lead to the production of higher-quality fiber optic products for use in space and on Earth.
NASA's Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor, or TSIS-1, will measure the Sun's energy input to Earth. TSIS-1 measurements will be three times more accurate than previous capabilities, enabling scientists to study the Sun's natural influence on Earth's ozone, atmospheric circulation, clouds and ecosystems. These observations are essential for a scientific understanding of the effects of solar variability on the Earth system.
The Space Debris Sensor (SDS) will measure the orbital debris environment around the space station for two to three years. Once mounted on the exterior of the station, this one-square-meter sensor will provide near-real-time debris impact detection and recording. Research from this investigation could help lower the risks posed by orbital debris to human life and critical hardware.
This is SpaceX's 13th cargo flight to the space station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon is scheduled to depart the station in January 2018 and return to Earth with more than 3,600 pounds of research, hardware and crew supplies.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-17-2017 06:49 AM
NASA update
While the International Space Station was traveling overhead between Australia and Papua New Guinea, NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba captured the Dragon spacecraft at 5:57 a.m. EST using the space station's robotic arm.
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was installed on the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 8:26 a.m. EST.
ejectr Member
Posts: 1751 From: Killingly, CT Registered: Mar 2002
posted 12-17-2017 07:40 AM
Was there ever a time when the crew had a cargo ship grab and a berthing the next day? I saw the ISS go over Spring Hill, Florida last night on an 83 degree pass.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-17-2017 08:09 AM
Dragon (and the other USOS visiting vehicles) generally arrive in the morning hours (Central time zone) and are berthed within the same day (generally within three to four hours) by ground controllers.
There have been a couple of instances where the rendezvous has been waived off due to issues that were later corrected, but the berthings have proceeded once the vehicle was grappled.
Blackarrow Member
Posts: 3120 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
posted 12-18-2017 07:33 AM
I've watched the very impressive launch of the latest Falcon 9, followed by the successful return of the first stage. Elon Musk seems to be a very meticulous planner, and I couldn't help wondering what provision he has made for an engine failure on a returning booster as it drops towards KSC. That's not something you would want dropping on a populated area, or any occupied building at KSC.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-18-2017 11:17 AM
The Falcon 9 is equipped with an Automated Flight Safety System, or AFSS, which would trigger if the booster's planned flight was to go awry. As described by Florida Today:
During flight, GPS and other sensors on the Falcon continuously record the rocket’s position and trajectory. If the rocket crosses pre-programmed boundary lines, triggering repeated violations of flight rules, onboard computers would command explosive devices to detonate...
If the engine failure were to occur close to the ground, then the location of LZ-1 is such that an explosion would not pose a risk to people or other property.
Blackarrow Member
Posts: 3120 From: Belfast, United Kingdom Registered: Feb 2002
posted 12-18-2017 08:42 PM
Thanks, Robert. That seems to cover everything!
PeterO Member
Posts: 399 From: North Carolina Registered: Mar 2002
posted 12-30-2017 01:19 PM
I was lucky to be in central Florida when CRS-13 launched, so I watched the launch and first stage landing from the Saturn V Center viewing stands. Seeing the booster's boostback, reentry and landing burns was amazing!
I didn't take any photos, preferring to watch live rather than through a viewfinder. Has anyone taken photos of a SpaceX launch and landing from the Saturn V Center? My fiancee would like to make a quilt of the event, but I haven't found any photos online from the Saturn V Center vantage point.
I'd especially like a landing photo — we were seated so the landing was between two buildings in the foreground, and we could see it all the way to touchdown.
GACspaceguy Member
Posts: 2476 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
posted 12-30-2017 04:55 PM
I just sent you the pics I took of the June 3, 2017 launch of the CRS-11 mission from the Saturn V Center.
PeterO Member
Posts: 399 From: North Carolina Registered: Mar 2002
posted 12-30-2017 06:34 PM
Thanks, Fred! The photos are great, and much appreciated. We saw the booster return just to the left of the VAB, perfectly between it and the shorter gray building to its left.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-30-2017 06:49 PM
Here's a good video that shows the view of the CRS-13 launch from the Saturn V Center (filmed by a daily vlogger who chronicles the Central Florida-area theme parks and attractions).
PeterO Member
Posts: 399 From: North Carolina Registered: Mar 2002
posted 12-31-2017 09:32 AM
Thanks, Robert, that's a great video! It really captures what it was like to be there — including arriving at 7:30 and waiting for the gates to open. The videographer was near us in the stands, and we actually appear in the video at 7:18-19.
There was a JumboTron off-screen to the left showing SpaceX's webcast, which was delayed about 15 seconds. After watching the landing live, the crowd turned to the screen and watched the close-up "replay."
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-13-2018 08:48 AM
NASA flight controllers released SpaceX's Dragon CRS-13 cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station's Canadarm2 robotic arm on Saturday (Jan. 13) at 3:58 a.m. CST (0958 GMT). From SpaceX on Twitter:
The three departure burns to move Dragon away from the space station are complete.
Dragon's deorbit burn is complete and trunk has been jettisoned.
The Dragon will splash down at about 9:36 a.m. CST (1536 GMT) off the coast of California, for the capsule and its nearly 4,100 pounds (1,860 kilograms) of cargo to be recovered.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-13-2018 09:41 AM
From SpaceX on Twitter:
Good splashdown of Dragon confirmed, completing the second resupply mission to and from the International Space Station with a flight-proven commercial spacecraft.
Dragon is headed to port with about 4,100 pounds of scientific research and hardware for a cargo handover to NASA.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-13-2018 01:42 PM
The departure of the Dragon from the International Space Station marked the first ground-controlled release of a free flying cargo vehicle (via Carbon Flight).
posted 11-28-2017 02:59 PM
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