posted 12-05-2018 10:20 AM               

SpaceX CRS-16 Mission Overview

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the CRS-16 Dragon spacecraft to low-Earth orbit to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station for NASA.

The 16th flight under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract with SpaceX, the Dragon will deliver more than 5,600 pounds (2,500 kg) of research, logistics and spare hardware for the Expedition 57/58 crew including:

• NASA's Robotic Refueling Mission-3, to demonstrate the storage and transfer of liquid methane in space for the first time;

• The first in a series of five investigations utilizing tissue chip systems — a research technology that reflects the human body. This first tissue chip investigation, led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, will use tissue chip technology to examine the relationship between immune aging and healing outcomes.

• Budweiser's third experiment conducted aboard the ISS National Lab, this time examining strains of barley seeds as they go through the processes of steeping (rapid hydration), germination, and kilning (drying) associated with malting barley. Results from this research could help the company develop new malt barley varieties that are more tolerant to extreme stress environments and could also provide valuable insight for the general agricultural community.

• Two student payloads in partnership with Marvel Entertainment as part of the Guardians of the Galaxy Space Station Challenge. In association with Team Groot, high school student Sarnia Kopf and teammates from Lakewood High School in Colorado plan to look at aeroponic farming in microgravity (with engineering support from Space Tango). In association with Team Rocket, high school student Adia Buwala from Greeneville, Tennessee will examine the effectiveness in microgravity of a dental glue that is activated by UV light (in collaboration with DreamUp and hardware partner NanoRacks).

• A partnership between the creative studio Felix & Paul Studios and TIME Magazine will capture footage for a cinematic virtual reality series documenting life onboard the space station.

The Dragon spacecraft that will support the CRS-16 mission previously supported the CRS-10 mission in February 2017.

Following stage separation, SpaceX will attempt to recover the Falcon 9's first stage on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

The CRS-16 Dragon will return to Earth with more than 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of cargo after spending about five weeks at the space station.

posted 12-05-2018 10:22 AM               

SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018, for an instantaneous launch of its sixteenth Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-16) at 1:16 p.m. EST, or 18:16 UTC, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Dragon will separate from Falcon 9’s second stage about 10 minutes after liftoff and attach to the space station on Saturday, Dec. 8.

posted 12-05-2018 01:11 PM               

NASA Sends New Research, Hardware to Space Station on SpaceX Mission

Experiments in forest observation, protein crystal growth and in-space fuel transfer demonstration are heading to the International Space Station following the launch Wednesday of SpaceX's 16th mission for NASA under the agency's Commercial Resupply Services contract.

The company's Dragon spacecraft lifted off at 1:16 p.m. EST on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It's carrying more than 5,600 pounds of research equipment, cargo and supplies that will support the crew, station maintenance and dozens of the more than 250 investigations aboard the space station.

Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) and Flight Engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA will use the space station's robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives two days later. NASA astronaut Anne McClain will monitor telemetry during the spacecraft's approach.

Science Aboard Dragon

The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) will provide high-quality laser ranging observations of the Earth's forests and topography required to advance the understanding of important carbon and water cycling processes, biodiversity, and habitat. GEDI will be mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and provide the first high-resolution observations of forest vertical structure at a global scale. These observations will quantify the aboveground carbon stored in vegetation and changes that result from vegetation disturbance and recovery, the potential for forests to sequester carbon in the future, and habitat structure and its influence on habitat quality and biodiversity.

A small satellite deployment mechanism, called SlingShot, will be ride up in Dragon and then be installed in a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft prior to its departure from the space station. SlingShot can accommodate as many as 18 CubeSats of any format. After the Cygnus cargo ship departs from station, the spacecraft navigates to an altitude of 280 to 310 miles (an orbit higher than that of the space station) to deploy the satellites.

Robotic Refueling Mission-3 (RRM3) will demonstrate the first transfer and long-term storage of liquid methane, a cryogenic fluid, in microgravity. The ability to replenish and store cryogenic fluids, which can function as a fuel or coolant, will help enable long duration journeys to destinations, such as the Moon and Mars.

Growth of Large, Perfect Protein Crystals for Neutron Crystallography (Perfect Crystals) crystallizes an antioxidant protein found inside the human body to analyze its shape. This research may shed light on how the protein helps protect the human body from ionizing radiation and oxidants created as a byproduct of metabolism. For best results, analysis requires large crystals with minimal imperfections, which are more easily produced in the microgravity environment of the space station.

Dragon is scheduled to depart the station in January 2019 and return to Earth with more than 4,000 pounds of research, hardware and crew supplies.

posted 12-08-2018 07:01 AM               

Dragon captured at space station

Expedition 57 commander Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency and flight engineer Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA captured the CRS-16 Dragon spacecraft on Saturday (Dec. 8) at 7:21 a.m. EST (1221 GMT) using the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm.

Ground controllers then sent commands to begin the robotic installation of the spacecraft on the bottom of the station's Harmony module. The Dragon was berthed at 10:36 a.m. EST (1536 GMT).

posted 01-09-2019 01:31 PM               

Dragon return to Earth delayed

The three Expedition 58 crew members have finished packing the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft with science experiments and hardware today (Jan. 9). Final preparations for the vehicles departure are now on hold while teams wait for favorable weather in the splashdown area for Dragon's return.

Dragon was scheduled for departure early Thursday morning (Jan. 10) from the International Space Station but mission managers made the decision to delay departure. Managers are assessing the backup release date of Sunday, Jan. 13 for Dragon's return to Earth.

Robotics controllers maneuvered the Canadarm2 robotic arm Wednesday and grappled Dragon while it was still attached to the Harmony module. Prior to Dragon departure, they will remotely uninstall Dragon from Harmony and slowly guide it to its release position.

Astronaut Anne McClain will be in the cupola when robotics experts command the Canadarm2 to release Dragon finalizing its mission at the orbital lab. She will monitor its departure while her crewmates commander Oleg Kononenko and flight engineer David Saint-Jacques work on their daily science and maintenance tasks.

Dragon, which arrived at the station Dec. 8, will orbit Earth a few more hours on its own before reentering the atmosphere. It will parachute to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California where SpaceX personnel will retrieve the space freighter. They will deliver it to shore where NASA engineers will extract the precious cargo for immediate shipment to investigators around the country for analysis.

posted 01-11-2019 01:48 PM               

Station, SpaceX managers set Dragon release

To take advantage of calmer sea states in a different location in the Pacific Ocean, SpaceX and the International Space Station Program agreed to move the departure of the CRS-16 Dragon cargo craft from the station from early Sunday morning to late Sunday afternoon (Jan. 13), setting up the first night splashdown and recovery of a Dragon vehicle.

Dragon's hatch will be closed Sunday morning, and the spacecraft will be detached from the Harmony module around 3 p.m. EST Sunday.

Ground controllers will now release Dragon from the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. NASA Flight Engineer Anne McClain will monitor the release from the station's cupola.

Dragon's deorbit burn to begin its descent back to Earth is now scheduled at approximately 11:19 p.m. with splashdown scheduled at around 12:10 a.m. Monday (9:10 p.m. Pacific time) just west of Baja California.

posted 01-13-2019 06:25 PM               

Dragon released to return to Earth

The SpaceX CRS-16 Dragon cargo craft was released from the International Space Station on Sunday (Jan. 13) at 6:33 p.m. EST (2333 GMT). Robotics controllers remotely commanded the Canadarm2 robotic arm to let go of the space freighter sending it on a solo trajectory back to Earth.

Astronaut Anne McClain monitored the activities from the cupola and watched Dragon perform a series of departure burns as it separated itself to a safe distance from the orbital lab. Integrated operations between mission controllers in Houston and SpaceX controllers in California stop when Dragon reaches a point about one kilometer away from the station.

SpaceX personnel will retrieve Dragon after it parachutes to a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Monday at 12:15 a.m. EST (9:15 p.m. Sunday PST) then tow it to port in southern California. This will be the first nighttime splashdown and recovery for the Dragon with plenty of moonlight to track its entry.

posted 01-13-2019 11:20 PM               

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

posted 01-14-2019 03:45 PM               

Dragon returned home last night after its five-week stay at the space station, completing SpaceX's sixteenth flight to and from the orbiting laboratory. The ISS badge signifies this Dragon's previous trip to the station in 2017.