![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-02-151242.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSpaceX\u2019s Dragon spacecraft began its fifteenth mission to the International Space Station Monday with a launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff, from Space Launch Complex 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, occurred at 16:30 Eastern Time (20:30 UTC).<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s launch carried CRS-14, the fourteenth flight of Dragon under NASA\u2019s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract that sees commercial cargo vehicles make deliveries to the International Space Station (ISS).<\/p>\n
SpaceX\u2019s Dragon is one of two vehicles currently in service making CRS flights \u2013 with Orbital ATK\u2019s Cygnus also used for cargo runs to the outpost. The CRS vehicles form part of an international fleet of ships supporting the space station, which also includes Russia\u2019s manned Soyuz and unmanned Progress spacecraft and Japan\u2019s Kounotori \u2013 or H-II Transfer Vehicle.<\/p>\n
Dragon first flew in December 2010, with a short test mission that ended with the spacecraft being recovered successfully in the Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft\u2019s first two flights were made under NASA\u2019s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, which funded development of Dragon and Cygnus ahead of the operational CRS resupply contracts being awarded. Dragon\u2019s second flight, in May 2012, culminated in a successful rendezvous with and berthing at the space station, paving the way for it to begin operational missions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dragon and the ISS \u2013 via Nathan Koga for NSF\/L2<\/p>\n
Dragon began its first operational mission, CRS-1, in October 2012 and has made twelve further flights to date. All of these have seen Dragon arrive at the space station and return to Earth successfully, except for June 2015\u2019s CRS-7 mission which failed to achieve orbit after a malfunction of the Falcon 9 rocket that was carrying it. CRS-14 is the fifteenth Dragon mission to launch to the station, however as CRS-7 did not reach orbit, if successful it will be the fourteenth to reach the outpost.<\/p>\n
Dragon consists of a pressurized capsule and an unpressurized Trunk section. The Trunk houses cargo to be mounted to the space station\u2019s exterior and also provides Dragon with power through its solar arrays. Aside from Soyuz, Dragon is the only spacecraft currently flying to the space station that also has the ability to return cargo to Earth.<\/p>\n
Following a month at the station Dragon will be released to begin its return journey, ending with the capsule descending under parachutes into the Pacific Ocean. The Trunk is not designed to be recovered and will separate from the capsule after it has been deorbited, burning up in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
After recovery, Dragon capsules can be refurbished to fly again on future missions. The Dragon that will fly CRS-14 previously conducted the CRS-8 mission in 2016, delivering a cargo that included the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) to the space station.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-27-233349.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Dragon capture at the ISS \u2013 via NASA<\/p>\n
CRS-8 lifted off aboard a Falcon 9 on 8 April 2016 and arrived at the International Space Station a little under two days later. After spending just over a month at the station, Dragon returned to Earth on 11 May.<\/p>\n
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n
The CRS-14 mission is carrying 2,647 kilograms (5,836 pounds) of cargo. Within the capsule, this includes 1,070 kilograms (2,359 lb) of scientific hardware and experiments, 344 kilograms (758 lb) of provisions for the crew, 148 kilograms (326 lb) of equipment to support the US segment of the space station and 11 kilograms (24 lb) of hardware for the Russian side of the Station .<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The cargo also includes 99 kilograms (218 lb) of equipment to support the crew in conducting extra-vehicular activities \u2013 or spacewalks \u2013 and 49 kilograms (108 lb) of computer equipment.<\/p>\n
The cargo includes a new heater controller for the station\u2019s carbon dioxide scrubbers, high-definition camera assemblies to be mounted outside of the ISS and a spare Common Communication for Visiting Vehicles (C2V2) assembly that will be installed to improve reliability ahead of the arrival of a Cygnus mission next month. A new HP Envy printer will also be delivered for the crew\u2019s use.<\/p>\n
Science aboard the Dragon\u2019s capsule includes a study of the effects of microgravity on bone marrow \u2013 to confirm whether long-duration spaceflight affects marrow and blood cell production in the same way that it would affect a patient in long-term bed rest on Earth.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-02-151926.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Some of the science heading to the ISS \u2013 photo via Brady Kenniston for NSF<\/p>\n
Another experiment, Sample Cartridge Assembly \u2013 Gravitational Effects on Distortion in Sintering (SCA-GEDS), will study how microgravity affects the process of liquid phase sintering \u2013 which is used in the fabrication of composite materials and could in the future play an important role in constructing and repairing spacecraft in situ. The Veggie PONDS experiment will demonstrate a passive orbital nutrient delivery system (PONDS) to provide water and nutrients to a crop of lettuce and mizuna that will be grown aboard the space station for crew consumption.<\/p>\n
Two small satellite missions are also being flown aboard the capsule for deployment from the International Space Station. These are the commercial Overview-1A satellite for US company SpaceVR, and the British RemoveDEBRIS mission which is being conducted by the University of Surrey.<\/p>\n
Overview-1A is a three-unit CubeSat which was built by Pumpkin Incorporated. The five-kilogram (11 lb) satellite carries a virtual reality imaging payload that SpaceVR aim to use to provide subscribers with the experience of being in space and seeing the Earth from orbit. A second satellite \u2013 Overview-1B \u2013 is also under construction, while SpaceVR aim also to place satellites in orbits of other planets.<\/p>\n
The University of Surrey\u2019s RemoveDEBRIS is a larger satellite that was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), based around the SSTL-42 satellite bus. The mission, which has received funding from the European Union, will see the satellite demonstrate techniques for capturing and deorbiting debris from low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n
Following deployment from the space station via the Japanese Experiment Module\u2019s robotic arm, RemoveDEBRIS will itself deploy the first of a pair of two-unit CubeSat subsatellites \u2013 DebrisSAT-1 (DS-1). DS-1 will deploy an inflatable balloon to increase its size and drag, before RemoveDEBRIS attempts to capture it with a net. Once caught in the net, DebrisSAT-1 will be left to decay from orbit \u2013 with the increased drag from its balloon hastening this process.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-02-151548-620x350.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
RemoveDEBRIS in action<\/p>\n
RemoveDEBRIS will deploy its second subsatellite, DebrisSAT-2 (DS-2), which will serve as a target for its second experiment, Vision-Based Navigation (VBN). During this phase of this mission, the RemoveDEBRIS satellite will use a camera and a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) system to track the DS-2 CubeSat. This will allow algorithms for debris tracking to be refined and developed for future missions.<\/p>\n
The third phase of the mission will see RemoveDEBRIS attempt to harpoon a third target, which will be extended out from the main satellite. The final phase of the mission will test the deployment of an inflatable sail, which will increase the satellite\u2019s drag aiding its removal from orbit.<\/p>\n
The remaining 926 kilograms (2,041 lb) of cargo is located in the unpressurized Trunk. This includes the Materials ISS Experiment Flight Facility (MISSE-FF), an externally-mounted materials research platform that will allow up to fourteen interchangeable sample modules to be exposed to the space environment at one time.<\/p>\n
The facility will be attached to one of the ExPrESS Logistics Carriers (ELCs) attached to the space station\u2019s truss. A refurbished Pump and Flow Control Subassembly for the station\u2019s solar array cooling system \u2013 one of the outpost\u2019s orbital replacement units (ORUs) \u2013 will also be delivered via the Trunk.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-02-152251-471x350.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
A look inside the CRS-14 Dragon trunk, via ESA<\/p>\n
The third payload in Dragon\u2019s Trunk is the European Space Agency\u2019s Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM). ASIM will be mounted to one of the external payload racks of the station\u2019s Columbus module. The 314-kilogram (692 lb) instrument will be used to study high-altitude electrical activity within Earth\u2019s atmosphere. The aim of the experiment is to provide a better understanding of transient luminous events (TLEs) or ionospheric lightning, little-understood electrical phenomena known as sprites, jets and ELVES.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s launch marked the fifty-second launch of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket \u2013 which first flew in June 2010 with a mockup Dragon spacecraft aboard. Falcon 9 has boosted all of Dragon\u2019s missions \u2013 across three different configurations of the rocket. Early Dragon missions used the original version of the rocket \u2013 retrospectively known as the Falcon 9 v1.0 \u2013 with launches moving to the more capable Falcon 9 v1.1 following its introduction in 2013 and then to the Falcon 9 v1.2 in 2016.<\/p>\n
The Falcon 9 was designed to be at least partially reusable, with SpaceX still hopeful of eventually making the complete vehicle reusable. Currently, the rocket\u2019s first stage, or Core, is the only component that can fly more than once \u2013 although SpaceX is making progress with attempts to recover the rocket\u2019s payload fairing as well. The company\u2019s last two west-coast launches have included attempts to catch half of the fairing \u2013 as it falls under a parachute \u2013 with a specially modified ship. On both flights, the fairing has missed the ship but landed intact in the water nearby.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-03-140116.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Falcon 9 and CRS-14 ahead of launch \u2013 via Brady Kenniston for NSF\/L2<\/p>\n
The Dragon spacecraft is aerodynamic and does not require a fairing to protect it as Falcon 9 climbs through the atmosphere. CRS-14 was boosted by a previously-flown \u2013 or \u201cflight-proven\u201d \u2013 first stage, Core B1039.2, which first flew last August in support of the CRS-12 mission. B1039 was the first Falcon 9 core built to Block 4 specifications to fly and, after sending CRS-12 on its way to the space station, flew back to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for a successful landing at SpaceX\u2019s Landing Zone 1.<\/p>\n
SpaceX only flies Block 3 and 4 Falcon 9s twice, and as B1039 was making its second launch SpaceX did not attempt to recover the stage again. Instead, the stage was used to demonstrate a landing close to the rocket\u2019s limits, collecting data for future missions. SpaceX is expected to introduce the Block 5 version of Falcon 9, which will be capable of multiple re-flights, later this month.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s launch took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. One of two Falcon 9 pads on Florida\u2019s Space Coast \u2013 along with the Kennedy Space Center\u2019s Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) \u2013 SLC-40 is a former Titan III and Titan IV launch pad whose lease was taken over by SpaceX in 2007.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-03-135959.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
SLC-40 after CRS-14\u2019s launch \u2013 by Brady Kenniston for NSF<\/p>\n
The pad was the site of Falcon 9\u2019s maiden flight and supported all East Coast Falcon missions until it was damaged in a test accident in September 2016.<\/p>\n
A Falcon 9 exploded during fuelling for a static fire test ahead of the planned launch of the Amos 6 satellite, which put the pad out of use for over a year. At the time of the accident, LC-39A was being developed as a second East Coast pad, so this was rushed into service to support upcoming missions, with SLC-40 returning to operations last December.<\/p>\n
Falcon\u2019s nine Merlin-1D first-stage engines began their ignition sequence three seconds before the rocket\u2019s planned liftoff. The rocket left the launch pad and began its ascent towards orbit once the countdown reached zero. Sixty-eight seconds into the mission, Falcon passed through Max-Q \u2013 the area of maximum dynamic pressure.<\/p>\n
The first stage \u2013 B1039.2 \u2013 powered Falcon 9 for the first two minutes and 41 seconds of the flight. At this point in the mission it shut down its engines \u2013 a flight event designated main engine cutoff, or MECO.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-03-135853.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Falcon 9 launching CRS-14 \u2013 photo by Brady Kenniston for NSF\/L2<\/p>\n
The first and second stages separated four seconds after MECO, with the second stage firing its Merlin Vacuum (MVac) engine \u2013 a version of the Merlin-1D optimized to operate in the vacuum of space \u2013 seven seconds after separation. The second stage will make a single burn to deploy Dragon, which will last six minutes and 11 seconds.<\/p>\n
At ten minutes and three seconds mission elapsed time \u2013 about a minute after the second stage completes its burn \u2013 Dragon separated from the Falcon 9. The spacecraft deployed its solar panels 57 seconds after separation, before opening its guidance, navigation and control (GNC) bay doors two hours and twenty minutes into the mission. Dragon will make a series of thruster burns to achieve rendezvous with the International Space Station, where its arrival is expected on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
When Dragon arrives at the space station, it will maneuver into range of the station\u2019s CanadArm2 arm.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/2018-04-02-144028.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
CRS-14 Dragon arriving as envisioned by Nathan Koga for NSF\/L2<\/p>\n
Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai, assisted by NASA\u2019s Scott Tingle, will use CanadArm2 to grapple Dragon and berth the spacecraft to the nadir \u2013 or Earth-facing \u2013 port of the Harmony module. At the end of Dragon\u2019s stay \u2013 currently expected on 2 May \u2013 CanadArm2 will again be used to unberth the spacecraft and release it for the return to Earth.<\/p>\n
Monday\u2019s launch was the seventh of 2018 for SpaceX \u2013 following five Falcon 9 missions and the successful debut launch of Falcon Heavy in the first quarter of the year. SpaceX\u2019s next launch is scheduled for 16 April, with a Falcon 9 due to deploy NASA\u2019s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).<\/p>\n
The next ISS resupply mission will be undertaken by Orbital ATK: the OA-9 mission, using a Cygnus spacecraft, is due to lift off atop an Antares rocket on 9 May. Dragon\u2019s next flight is expected no earlier than 9 June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SpaceX\u2019s Dragon spacecraft began its fifteenth mission to the International Space Station Monday with a launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff, from Space Launch Complex 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, occurred at 16:30 Eastern Time (20:30 UTC). Monday\u2019s launch carried CRS-14, the fourteenth flight of Dragon under NASA\u2019s Commercial Resupply Services […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2304,1395,479,675,316],"class_list":["post-38486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crs","tag-dragon","tag-falcon-9","tag-slc-40","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38486"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38486\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}