posted 04-01-2018 07:34 AM               

SpaceX CRS-14 Mission Overview

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the CRS-14 Dragon spacecraft to low-Earth orbit to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station for NASA.

The 14th flight under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract with SpaceX, CRS-14 will deliver approximately 5,800 pounds (2,630 kg) of research, logistics and hardware for the Expedition 55/56 crews including:

• Techshot's Multi-use Variable-gravity Platform (MVP), a permanent, commercially operated facility capable of producing artificial gravity in space;

• Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance's Materials International Space Station Experiments Flight Facility (MISSE-FF), a materials science and component testing platform to be mounted on the exterior of the space station;

• Tupperware's Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS), developed with Techshot, an improved system for growing plants in space inside NASA's Vegetable Production System, otherwise known as the "Veggie" facility;

• Technical University of Denmark's Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor, an observatory to study severe thunderstorms and their role in the Earth's atmosphere and climate.

Both the Falcon 9's first stage and Dragon spacecraft for the mission are flight-proven. The Falcon stage previously supported the CRS-12 mission in August 2017 and Dragon launched on the CRS-8 mission in April 2016.

SpaceX will not attempt to recover Falcon 9’s first stage after launch.

The CRS-14 Dragon will return to Earth with more than 3,900 pounds (1,770 kg) of cargo after spending one month at the space station.

posted 04-01-2018 07:43 AM               

SpaceX is targeting Monday, April 2 for its fourteenth Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-14) to the International Space Station. The instantaneous launch is targeted for 4:30 p.m. EDT, or 20:30 UTC, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

A backup launch opportunity is available on Tuesday, April 3 at 4:08 p.m. EDT, or 20:08 UTC.

Dragon will separate from Falcon 9's second stage about 10 minutes after liftoff and attach to the space station on Wednesday, April 4.

posted 04-02-2018 04:26 PM               

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on April 2 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the CRS-14 Dragon cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station, as seen from the roof of NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building.

posted 04-04-2018 09:38 AM               

Two days after its launch from Florida, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was installed on the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 9:00 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT).

Prior to the berthing, Expedition 55 crew members Norshige Kanai and Scott Tingle used the space station's robotic arm to capture the Dragon at 6:40 a.m. EDT (1040 GMT).

Dragon will remain attached to the space station until May, when it will return to Earth with more than 3,500 pounds of research, hardware and crew supplies.

posted 05-05-2018 02:30 PM               

Robotic flight controllers released the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft from the International Space Station's robotic arm at 9:23 a.m. EDT [on Saturday [May 5] while Expedition 55 flight engineer Scott Tingle of NASA monitored its departure.

The capsule will splashdown about 3 p.m. [EDT] in the Pacific Ocean, where recovery forces will retrieve the capsule and its more than 4,000 pounds of cargo, including a variety of technological and biological studies.

Good splashdown of Dragon confirmed, completing SpaceX's third resupply mission to and from the space station with a flight-proven spacecraft.