SpaceX CRS-8

SpaceX CRS-8

The CRS-8 SpaceX Dragon captured by Canadarm on April 10, 2016
Mission type ISS resupply
Operator SpaceX / NASA
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Dragon
Manufacturer SpaceX
Start of mission
Launch date April 8, 2016, 20:43 (2016-04-08UTC20:43) UTC
Rocket Falcon 9 v1.2 FT [1]
Launch site Cape Canaveral SLC-40
Contractor SpaceX
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Inclination 51.6 degrees
Epoch Planned
Berthing at ISS
Berthing port Harmony nadir
RMS capture April 10, 2016, 11:23 UTC
Berthing date April 10, 2016, 13:57 UTC
Payload
BEAM
Mass 3,136 kg (6,914 lb)
Pressurised 1,723 kg (3,799 lb)
Unpressurised 1,413 kg (3,115 lb)

Commercial Resupply Services
← SpaceX CRS-7 SpaceX CRS-9 →

SpaceX CRS-8, also known as SpX-8,[2] is a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched on April 8, 2016, at 20:43 UTC. It was the tenth flight of a Dragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted to SpaceX by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program.[3] The capsule carried over 3,100 kilograms (6,800 lb) of cargo to the ISS including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototype inflatable space habitat delivered in the vehicle's trunk, which will be attached to the station for two years of in-orbit viability tests.[4] After boosting the payload on its way, the rocket's first stage re-entered the denser layers of the atmosphere and landed vertically on the ocean platform Of Course I Still Love You, nine minutes after liftoff,[5] achieving a long-sought-after milestone in SpaceX's reusable rocket program.

Launch schedule history

Falcon 9 lifting off from SLC-40 on April 8, 2016.

The launch was initially scheduled by NASA to occur no earlier than September 2, 2015. The launch date went under review pending the outcome of the analysis of the failure of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle in SpaceX CRS-7, a June 2015 flight. The return-to-flight (RTF) project included additional improvements.[6]

With additional manifest changes announced by SpaceX in mid-October, CRS-8 was scheduled to be the third launch of the upgraded Falcon 9 full thrust rocket.[7] By March 2016, the launch date was set to April 8, 2016, with a backup launch window the next day.

The spacecraft was finally launched on schedule, at 20:43 UTC on April 8, 2016. The rocket first stage separated around 2 minutes 40 seconds after liftoff, and the second stage separated around ten minutes 30 seconds after liftoff.

Primary payload

NASA has contracted for the CRS-8 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the orbital parameters for the primary payload – the Dragon space capsule.

The mission delivered 3,136 kilograms (6,914 lb) of supplies, experiments, and hardware to the ISS. These include the station's first expandable module, called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which is expected to remain on the station for at least two years of observation and testing.[3][8] Also delivered in the Dragon were sixteen Flock 2d 3U CubeSats for the Earth-observing Flock constellation, built and operated by Planet Labs, which will be deployed by the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer.[9]

First stage landing

First stage of Falcon 9 Flight 23 landed on autonomous droneship

After placing the CRS-8 cargo on its way to the International Space Station, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket conducted an experimental boostback and re-entry maneuver over the Atlantic Ocean. Nine minutes after liftoff, at 20:52:10 UTC, the booster landed vertically on the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You, 300 kilometers (190 mi) from the Florida coastline, achieving a long-sought-after milestone for the SpaceX reusable launch system development program.[5]

This was the second successful landing achieved by a SpaceX orbital launch vehicle and the first by any organization to successfully remain vertical on a floating platform. SpaceX first landed a Falcon 9 on solid ground at Cape Canaveral with flight 20 on December 22, 2015.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Foust, Jeff (September 6, 2015). "SpaceX Will Debut Upgraded Falcon 9 Rocket on Return to Flight Mission". Space.com.
  2. ↑ Hartman, Daniel W. (July 2014). "Status of the ISS USOS" (PDF). NASA Advisory Council HEOMD Committee. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  3. 1 2 "NASA to Test Bigelow Expandable Module on Space Station". NASA. January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  4. ↑ Thomson, Iain (March 14, 2015). "SpaceX to deliver Bigelow blow-up job to ISS astronauts". The Register. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Drake, Nadia (April 8, 2016). "SpaceX Rocket Makes Spectacular Landing on Drone Ship". National Geographic. Retrieved April 8, 2016. To space and back, in less than nine minutes? Hello, future.
  6. ↑ Bergin, Chris (September 7, 2015). "SpaceX conducts additional Falcon 9 improvements ahead of busy schedule". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ de Selding, Peter B. (October 16, 2015). "SpaceX Changes its Falcon 9 Return-to-flight Plans". SpaceNews. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  8. ↑ Siceloff, Steven (March 18, 2016). "SpaceX-8 Experiments to Cover Habitat, Drug Research". NASA. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  9. ↑ Krebs, Gunter Dirk (January 16, 2016). "The Flock Earth observing constellation". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved January 22, 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to SpaceX CRS-8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.