SpaceX will be attempting to launch its seventh cargo flight to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, June 28.
The NASA commercial partner will be doing this as part of the Commercial Resupply Services contract with the agency. NASA will also hold live television coverage of the event at 9:00 a.m. EDT.
Prior to the launch, NASA will also facilitate prelaunch events and conferences on Friday, June 26, and Saturday, June 27 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Briefings and announcements will all be televised through NASA TV and the official website.
SpaceX will use the Falcon 9 rocket to carry the Dragon cargo spacecraft, which will be lifted at around 10:21 a.m. from the Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to the ISS.
The Dragon spacecraft will be carrying 4,000 pounds of food, payloads and supplies that the crew of the ISS will be using for their research and scientific investigations in space. The load will include materials that will particularly be helpful during Expedition 44 and 45. The astronauts are also expected to receive tools that can help them investigate meteors in the atmosphere of the Earth.
Falcon 9 will bring the Dragon to space and will subsequently disengage itself to come back to Earth. Falcon 9 will be using GPS to navigate itself back to a platform floating in the Atlantic.
If the space launch on Sunday will go as planned, the Dragon is expected to arrive at the ISS on Tuesday, June 30. Scott Kelly, flight engineer of NASA's Expedition 44, will utilize the Canadarm2 robotic arms of the station to catch and attach to the Dragon at about 7:00 a.m. Gennady Padalka, station commander from the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), will aid Kelly as the mission takes place.
A contingent date is also set should the planned Sunday launch fail to push through. The next available date for a launch opportunity will be on Monday, June 29, and the berthing of the spacecraft is expected to occur on Thursday, July 2.
The Dragon will go back to Earth after more than five weeks at the ISS. The spacecraft is expected to carry materials for science experiments, supplies for the crew, computers, hardware supplies and trash.
This is the third attempt of SpaceX to launch a cargo spacecraft this year. The first one happened in January, where the spacecraft bluntly crashed on the platform without any signs of a smooth touchdown. The second attempt was in April, which involved a far better landing; however, the rocket tilted on its side and eventually exploded. If SpaceX's third attempt will be successful, it will signify a promising future for the space cargo technology.
Photo: Steve Jurvetson | Flickr
