▲ Source: SpaceX

Currently, SpaceX has passed the review and its Dragon spacecraft is ready at the Kennedy 39A launch pad.

According to reports, CRS-29 is not just a simple cargo supply mission, it is more like multiple tasks in one. It is found that in addition to providing new scientific research equipment and food and other supplies to the International Space Station astronauts, it also undertakes two scientific research tasks.

One of these is NASA’s Atmospheric Wave Experiment (AWE), which aims to study atmospheric gravity waves – strong waves formed by weather disturbances on Earth, such as severe thunderstorms or brewing hurricanes – to understand the forces that travel through Earth’s upper atmosphere and into space. energy flow.

Another experiment, the Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T), will test high data rate laser communications from the International Space Station to Earth.

SpaceX’s last CRS-28 cargo mission had some anomalies, but it didn’t have much impact. A valve responsible for isolating thruster leaks to prevent propellant loss is said to have become stuck.

Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager, explained that the stuck valve poses no risk to the mission because it is part of a backup system.

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Reuters reported last year that NASA was concerned that SpaceX’s experiments with Starship at its Florida launch site, the only one currently capable of launching Dragon, could lead to increased risks. In September 2022, NASA and SpaceX acknowledged plans to modify LC-40 for the Dragon launch and said the parties had decided to proceed.

Recently, SpaceX and NASA held another press conference, confirming that some construction work is already underway, and reporting that LC-40 may be ready to support its first launch in less than a year.

SpaceX’s Sarah Walker said the company is making “good progress” on getting Pad 40 ready at Cape Canaveral SFS to support a Dragon cargo mission to the International Space Station in the fall, with additional crew launch capabilities to follow.

SpaceX is already clearing the site and starting piling work for the Pad 40’s new tower for crew and cargo missions, said Steve Stich, NASA’s commercial crew program manager.

Regulatory documents show that the new launch tower is 81 meters high, which is nearly a third lower than the 110-meter-high launch tower SpaceX modified on Pad 39A. Additionally, the LC-40 required a swingable access arm to connect the tower to the Dragon hatch. It is claimed that the robotic arm can be constructed off-site, further reducing the downtime required.

SpaceX says LC-40 will be ready to support its first Dragon mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station as early as the fall of 2023, meaning the tower, arms and pads won’t need to go through review right away.

In theory, SpaceX could even launch a Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft from LC-40 without a tower or arm, since the tower’s sole purpose during unmanned missions is to help crews load volatile cargo. SpaceX can return to its original Dragon 1 spacecraft practice and devise a method to delay loading cargo while Falcon 9 and Dragon are still horizontal.

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On December 15, 2022, the Soyuz spacecraft MS-22 began to leak a large amount of coolant into space, which may have been caused by a micrometeorite impact. That has forced U.S. and Russian space agency officials to consider emergency rescue plans to bring the two Russian cosmonauts, as well as NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, back to Earth.

Russia’s refusal to accept SpaceX’s help underscores U.S.-Russian tensions in space, as NASA no longer relies solely on Russian spacecraft to launch astronauts to the International Space Station.

Late last year, NASA had contacted SpaceX to ask if the company could act to help in an emergency situation using a manned Dragon spacecraft. But Russian space agencies rejected plans to return the country’s cosmonauts to Earth aboard the manned Dragon spacecraft, according to Russian media reports.

According to unconfirmed plans, the MS-22 spacecraft would return to Earth without a crew, while the MS-23 spacecraft would be launched to the International Space Station in February with only one pilot on board, Oleg Kononenko, to leave enough room for two cosmonauts stranded in space.

Under the plan, Rubio will return on a SpaceX spacecraft, which can deliver astronauts to the International Space Station on U.S. soil, greatly reducing the U.S.’s reliance on Russian spacecraft, which were the only way to send astronauts into space after the space shuttle was retired in 2011.

The final rescue plan has not yet been finalized. It is reported that the Russian space agency director Yuri Borisov (Yuri Borisov) will make a final decision later this week.

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The launch is scheduled for Tuesday at 3:54 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and if all goes well, docking with the station will be completed at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 23.

According to reports, SpaceX will then bring new science investigations, supplies and equipment for the international crew, including the next pair of solar arrays (iROSA) to be launched on the International Space Station, which will add to the existing power supply of the station.

In addition, the space station mission will conduct a study of growing dwarf tomatoes to help create a sustainable fresh food production system in space, as well as experiments to test on-demand methods to make specific amounts of key nutrients.

This will be SpaceX’s 26th commercial resupply mission to the space station. The spacecraft is expected to stay at the orbiting outpost for about a month before returning to Earth with its research and return cargo and landing off the coast of Florida.

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NASA astronauts Nicole Mann (commander) and Josh Cassada (pilot), along with mission specialists Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and cosmonaut Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, will lift off in SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. They will be carried by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and launched from JFK’s Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than Oct. 3. Part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, Crew-5 is the sixth manned spaceflight mission for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. This is the fifth crew rotation mission to the space station since 2020.

Crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station pose for a photo at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center

CEIT allows crew members to familiarize themselves with the launch day schedule and experience the interior of the Dragon spacecraft in a near-flight configuration. As part of the full test program, astronauts don their space suits to enter the spacecraft, perform a clothing leak check and complete communication tests.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying up to seven passengers to and from Earth orbit and beyond. It is currently the only vehicle capable of returning large amounts of cargo to Earth and is the first private spacecraft ever to send humans to the International Space Station.

Inside the vehicle, the crew also listened to the regular operating noise of Dragon’s fans and pumps, which helped prepare them for the sounds they might hear on launch day. The crew will need more time to familiarize themselves with the interior of Dragon before leaving the spacecraft, which marks the end of CEIT.

Prior to that, the crew also received mission-specific training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The unique 18-month training program featured activities including learning and participating in extravehicular activities; T-38 jet flying; Russian language; spacesuit training; robotics; spacecraft training; and physical, tools and science training.

Crew-5 will fly to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX’s Challenger Dragon spacecraft, an orbital science lab that the company’s Crew-3 mission previously flew to and from.

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In another tweet, the company added, “After the Dragon spacecraft is recovered by SpaceX’s recovery team, the spacecraft’s critical science facilities will be transported by helicopter to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for transfer to researchers.”

SpaceX launched the Dragon spacecraft on its 25th cargo resupply mission from the Kennedy Space Center on July 14, and the spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station two days later. The spacecraft delivered 5,800 pounds (2,630 kilograms) of scientific experiment equipment, crew resupply and other cargo to the ISS.

The Dragon spacecraft separated from the ISS this Friday and is scheduled to return to Earth on Saturday. The cargo carried by the spacecraft includes the results of some of the ISS experiments.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is used to deliver supplies to and from the ISS under a multibillion-dollar contract with NASA. spaceX is one of two U.S. companies currently performing ISS cargo resupply missions, while Northrop Grumman uses the Cygnus cargo spacecraft for resupply missions. In addition to these two companies, Sierra Nevada Space Systems plans to provide similar services to NASA with the Dream Chaser spaceplane.

In addition to these U.S. companies, Russia’s Progress unmanned spacecraft also regularly conducts cargo resupply missions, and the European Space Agency and Japan have launched cargo spacecraft in the past.

The ISS currently has seven astronauts, including three U.S. astronauts, three Russian astronauts and one European astronaut. Four of the astronauts on the Crew-4 space mission arrived on the ISS aboard SpaceX’s manned Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX will also send NASA crew members on the Crew-5 space mission to the International Space Station in September of this year.

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“The Dragon successfully left the station one month after arriving at the orbiting laboratory, where it had previously carried about 5,800 pounds of cargo and crew supplies – including about 4,000 pounds of scientific investigations.

Today, ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, will direct a deorbit burn. After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Florida. no NASA TV broadcast of the deorbit burn and splashdown will be available, and updates will be posted on the agency’s space station blog.

“Dragon arrived at the space station on July 16, two days after being launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This is the company’s 25th commercial resupply service mission to the space station for NASA.

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After spending more than a month on the ISS, the unmanned Dragon splashed down on the Florida coast at 2:53 p.m. EDT on Aug. 20.

▲ File photo

SpaceX announced via personal social media tweets, “The Dragon spacecraft has confirmed its splashdown, completing SpaceX’s 25th cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.”

In another tweet, the company added: “After the Dragon spacecraft is recovered by SpaceX’s recovery team, the spacecraft’s critical science facilities will be transported by helicopter to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for transfer to researchers.”

SpaceX launched the Dragon spacecraft on its 25th cargo resupply mission from Kennedy Space Center on July 14, and the spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station two days later. The spacecraft delivered 5,800 pounds (2,630 kg) of scientific experiment equipment, crew resupply and other cargo to the ISS.

The Dragon spacecraft separated from the ISS on Friday and is scheduled to return to Earth on Saturday. The cargo carried by the spacecraft includes the results of some of the ISS experiments.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft is used to deliver supplies to and from the ISS under a multibillion-dollar contract with NASA, and SpaceX is one of two U.S. companies currently performing cargo resupply missions to the ISS, while Northrop Grumman uses the Cygnus cargo spacecraft for resupply missions. In addition to these two companies, Sierra Nevada Space Systems plans to provide similar services to NASA with the Dream Chaser spaceplane.

In addition to these U.S. companies, Russia’s Progress unmanned spacecraft also regularly conducts cargo resupply missions, and the European Space Agency and Japan have launched cargo spacecraft in the past.

The ISS currently has seven astronauts, including three U.S. astronauts, three Russian astronauts and one European astronaut. Four of the astronauts on the Crew-4 mission arrived on the ISS aboard SpaceX’s manned Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX will also send the crew of NASA’s Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station in September of this year.

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