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15.02.2013
NASA and SpaceX today confirmed plans for a March 1 launch of the company’s next International Space Station resupply mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
A Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule are scheduled to blast off at 10:10 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 40.
If all stays on schedule, the Dragon would berth at the station the next day, delivering about 1,200 pounds of supplies.
The spacecraft would stay for about three weeks before returning to Earth March 25 for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.
The Dragon is expected to bring home 2,300 pounds of equipment and experiments.
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SpaceX remains on track to launch its next International Space Station resupply mission two weeks from today, NASA confirmed Thursday.
A Falcon 9 rocket and an unmanned Dragon capsule are scheduled to blast off at 10:10 a.m. March 1 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The confirmation came after NASA and its international partners met to verify that the station and its six-person crew were ready for the Dragon’s arrival, and that SpaceX also was ready for the mission.
“All parties were ‘go,’ ” said Josh Byerly, a NASA spokesman at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
The flight will be SpaceX’s second of 12 under a $1.6 billion NASA resupply contract, following a successful first operational flight last October.
It would be the third flight to the station by a Dragon, including a demonstration flight last May.
The Dragon will be packed with about 1,200 pounds of food, supplies and science experiments on the way up.
On March 2, station commander Kevin Ford and flight engineer Tom Marshburn plan to snare the Dragon with a robotic arm and berth it to the outpost’s Harmony node roughly 250 miles above Earth.
The Dragon is expected to remain there until March 25, if everything stays on schedule.
The visit’s duration is partly determined by an experiment flying up and down that must spend 24 days inside a station glove box.
The Dragon plans to return home with about 2,300 pounds of equipment and science samples, again splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Baja peninsula.
The launch is the first by a Falcon 9 since Oct. 7 when one of that rocket’s nine first-stage engines shut down early.
The Dragon reached its intended orbit despite the problem, but a secondary communications satellite did not.
SpaceX and NASA have not released formal results from the engine investigation, but officials have said they are satisfied the problem has been studied thoroughly and is not a concern for the upcoming launch.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 19.02.2013
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Image above: The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Teams had just installed the spacecraft's solar array fairings. Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Quelle: NASA
Update: 24.02.2013
NASA Coverage Set for March 1 SpaceX Mission to Space Station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The second SpaceX mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch Friday, March 1, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA Television coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. EST.
The company's Falcon 9 rocket carrying its Dragon cargo capsule will lift off at 10:10 a.m. If needed, a backup launch opportunity is available on March 2 with launch time at 9:47 a.m. and NASA TV coverage beginning at 8 a.m.
The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. It will mark the third trip by a Dragon capsule to the orbiting laboratory, following a demonstration flight in May 2012 and the first resupply mission in October 2012.
The capsule will be filled with more than 1,200 pounds of scientific experiments and cargo. It will remain attached to the space station's Harmony module for more than three weeks. The Dragon capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California on March 25, returning more than 2,300 pounds of experiment samples and equipment, which will be recovered for examination by scientists and engineers.
In advance of the launch, NASA will host a briefing on NASA's human deep space exploration progress at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On Thursday, Feb. 28, NASA will host a mission science briefing at 1 p.m. and a prelaunch news conference at 3 p.m. All three briefings will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website.
The company's Falcon 9 rocket carrying its Dragon cargo capsule will lift off at 10:10 a.m. If needed, a backup launch opportunity is available on March 2 with launch time at 9:47 a.m. and NASA TV coverage beginning at 8 a.m.
The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. It will mark the third trip by a Dragon capsule to the orbiting laboratory, following a demonstration flight in May 2012 and the first resupply mission in October 2012.
The capsule will be filled with more than 1,200 pounds of scientific experiments and cargo. It will remain attached to the space station's Harmony module for more than three weeks. The Dragon capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California on March 25, returning more than 2,300 pounds of experiment samples and equipment, which will be recovered for examination by scientists and engineers.
In advance of the launch, NASA will host a briefing on NASA's human deep space exploration progress at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On Thursday, Feb. 28, NASA will host a mission science briefing at 1 p.m. and a prelaunch news conference at 3 p.m. All three briefings will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website.
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Update: 26.02.2013
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The early forecast is excellent for SpaceX’s planned Friday morning launch of an International Space Station resupply mission.
There’s a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions for a 10:10 a.m. liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo capsule from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Gusty winds could pose a problem, but are expected to remain within acceptable levels.
If the launch slips to Saturday, the forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather for a 9:47 a.m. blastoff, with a chance for strong winds and thick clouds.
The mission is SpaceX’s second of 12 planned under a $1.6 billion station resupply contract.
On Monday afternoon, the company performed what it called a successful test-firing of the Falcon 9’s first-stage engines on the launch pad. Engineers are reviewing the data.
A Launch Readiness Review is planned Wednesday.
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Update: 27.02.2013
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Dragon Spacecraft Processing
Inside the processing hangar used by Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, workers lift a solar array fairing prior to installation on the company's Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft will launch on the upcoming SpaceX 2 mission.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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Update: 28.02.2013
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