The second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket will work a bit of double duty today by carrying five nanosatellites into orbit. Secured inside four specially designed carriers, the five tiny spacecraft will spring free into space soon after Dragon separates from the second stage on its mission to the International Space Station. You can …
At T-30 minutes, we remain on pace for liftoff on-time at 3:25 p.m. EDT. One of the experiments Dragon is carrying is called OPALS. It will demonstrate a data transmission using lasers which can carry far more data than radio frequencies. The increase is important because the research projects on the station produce a wide …
The Dragon spacecraft that is being launched into orbit today carries about 5,000 pounds of equipment including science experiments, a spacewalking suit, called an EMU for extravehicular maneuvering unit, plus other spacesuit hardware. There is also a set of robotic legs that will be connected to Robonaut2. The R2 torso is already on the International …
This is the first NASA mission by SpaceX that includes an upgraded version of the Falcon 9. Outwardly, the biggest change is an arrangement of eight engines in a circle around the center engine. Previously, the nine engines were built in three rows of three. SpaceX says the octaweb reduces the length and weight of …
At T-60 minutes, all remains on track for the SpaceX-3 mission to lift off on time at 3:25 p.m. EDT. The spacecraft carries no people, but is loaded with about 5,000 pounds of supplies, experiments and equipment for the International Space Station and its crew of astronauts. Six people live on the space station now …
The Falcon 9 rocket has been loaded with the kerosene fuel and liquid oxygen that will power the nine first stage engines and one second stage engine during launch and the flight into orbit. The first stage engines will generate about 900,000 pounds of thrust at liftoff. The launch window is instantaneous, meaning the liftoff …
We’re an hour and 10 minutes from the scheduled launch of the third operational SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The skies over our Florida launch site have been clearing in the last hour or so and the weather is not violating any of the launch criteria right now. Liftoff remains on …
The Launch Weather Officer reports that conditions around Cape Canaveral improving this afternoon. The weather remains unstable, but all constraints have been cleared and the weather is expected to remain “go” through launch time. Officially, the forecast remains at a 40 percent chance of acceptable conditions for the 3:25 p.m. EDT launch time. NASA TV …
Good morning from a cloudy Florida where SpaceX is preparing to launch its third operational mission to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft loaded with cargo have been rolled to the launch pad at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and raised to its vertical launch position. …
SpaceX released some of the details about the helium leak in the Falcon 9 rocket that scrubbed Monday’s launch attempt of the SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. Here is what the company said: “During Monday’s launch attempt, preflight checks detected that a helium valve in the stage separation pneumatic system was …
