SpaceX Dragon freighter at ISS. (Credit: NASA)
NASA Mission Update
SpaceX has chosen Saturday, Jan. 10 to launch its next commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft is targeted for 4:47 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The previous launch attempt on Tuesday was halted with one minute, 21 seconds left on the countdown clock. Engineers observed drift on one of two thrust vector control actuators for the Falcon 9’s second stage and stopped the countdown.
For a launch on Saturday, NASA Television coverage will begin at 3:30 a.m. A Saturday launch will result in the Dragon spacecraft arriving at the space station on Monday, Jan. 12. Expedition 42 Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore of NASA will use the station’s 57.7-foot robotic arm to reach out and capture Dragon at approximately 6 a.m. Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency will support Wilmore as they operate from the station’s cupola. NASA TV coverage of grapple will begin at 4:30 a.m. Coverage of Dragon’s installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 8:15 a.m.
If the launch does not occur on Saturday, the next launch opportunity would be at 3:36 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
SpaceX CRS-5 is the fifth of 12 SpaceX flights NASA has contracted with the company to resupply the space station. It will be the sixth trip by a Dragon spacecraft to the station. Dragon is filled with more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to support 256 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 42 and 43. Science payloads will enable model organism research using fruit flies and will study flatworms to better understand wound healing in space. A special science payload is the Cloud–Aerosol Transport System, which will monitor cloud and aerosol coverage that directly impacts the global climate. The mission also delivers an IMAX camera for filming during four increments and tools that will be used in future spacewalks to prepare the station for the installation of the new international docking adapters. After four weeks at the space station, Dragon will return with more than 3,600 pounds of cargo, including crew supplies, hardware and computer resources, science experiments, space station hardware, and trash.
For launch countdown coverage, NASA’s launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit: http://ift.tt/IWOEVX
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