SpaceX‘s Dragon capsule is less than 250 meters from the International Space Station, as the first private resupply mission prepares to dock in just a few hours time. A view from the capsule’s camera, shared by NASA, shows the ISS, which will use a robotic arm to snatch Dragon from orbit and guide it in to dock at 7:22am EDT. The Expedition 33 team will use LIDAR and thermal imagers to track Dragon’s approach.
On the ISS itself, meanwhile, astronaut Sunita Williams has been shown running through the robotic arm controls in preparation for the mission. ”Dragon slayers! Practiced approach & grapple, set up & tested the comm system last week for today’s snare of the #Dragon. Wish us luck!” Williams tweeted earlier today.
The capsule is the first of a series of resupply missions SpaceX is contracted to undertake for NASA, replacing the regular flights of the now-decommissioned Space Shuttles to the International Space Station. Launched on Monday, and making it to the orbiting platform despite a catastrophic engine failure, Dragon contains around 1,000 of cargo including Silly Putty and ice cream.
After it has been unloaded, the ISS crew will pack the Dragon capsule with a return load of spent experiments and other unneeded kit, and return it to Earth. SpaceX is already working on a second version of Dragon which will accommodate human passengers.
You can watch the docking process at nasa.gov/ntv.
The Polaris rover may look a little punk rock, but that mohawk is no fashion statement. It’s for catching solar rays which shine almost horizontally at the Moon’s north pole, a location Polaris is due to explore before 2016. Built by Astrobotic Technology, it’ll be ferried aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to our celestial companion, where it’ll drill into the surface in search of ice. The company, spun out of the CarnegieMellonUniversity, hopes to identify resources at a depth of up to four feet that could be used to support manned Moon expeditions in the future. The plan is to complete the mission during a 10-day window of sunlight, digging at up to 100 sites over a three-mile stretch. However, if it can live through the harsh two-week-long nights, then it may continue to operate “indefinitely.” NASA is backing the project, providing ice-prospecting gear and money, although Astrobotic hopes to get more cash for its work — over $20 million from Google’s Lunar X Prize. Right now, Polaris is a flight prototype and there are still improvements to be made, mainly on the software side, before it tackles the rough terrain. Check out the short video of its public unveiling below, although we don’t think the soundtrack quite matches the hairdo.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule is currently on the way to the International Space Station, but today we found out that the launch didn’t exactly go as smoothly as planned. A little over one minute into the launch, the Falcon 9 rocket lost one of its engines. We were told that this little issue won’t affect the mission to the ISS, but now Orbcomm is saying that the engine loss had some unintended consequences for the launch of one of its OG2 telecommunications satellites.
Didn’t know that the Falcon 9 rocket was also carrying a satellite? You’d be forgiven, considering that it wasn’t talked about all that often before the Dragon’s launch last night. The plan was to have the satellite launch into orbit after leaving Earth’s atmosphere on the back of the Falcon 9, but apparently, the OG2 missed its target because of the engine loss.
Orbcomm said in a statement today that the satellite was launched into a lower orbit than what was intended – NBC News reports that instead of the planned 350-by-750-kilometer orbit, the OG2 satellite is now in a 203-by-323-kilometer orbit. Orbcomm said today that it, along with engineers from the Sierra Nevada Corporation, are currently in contact with the satellite to see if they can get the OG2 to rise in orbit, and if such a move is even possible in the first place.
This was the first of 18 OG2 satellites that will be carried into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. By mid-2013, 8 more of these satellites will be in space, while the rest will be carried out of Earth’s atmosphere by 2014. The first satellite launch is off to something of a rocky start, so here’s hoping that the subsequent 17 launches will go a little bit better.
Last night, the SpaceX Dragon capsule, along with its accompanying Falcon 9 rocket, completed its first launch that will take supplies up to the International Space Station. Out of the couple thousand pounds of supplies that are aboard the SpaceX, Silly Putty and ice cream are just a couple of the more interesting items that are coming along for the ride.
The ice cream is being kept in a special refrigerator that has a freezer that can reach temperatures as low as -300 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the ice cream isn’t your usual freeze-dried ice cream that normally goes into space. This is actual ice cream from Blue Bell Creameries in Texas, and it was also aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2006.
Materials to make Silly Putty are also on their way to the ISS. The Silly Putty will be made by the astronauts while in space to see whether or not Silly Putty can be made in space in the first place. If so, experimenters will want to know how it differs from the regular, Earth-made version of the stuff. It’s hypothesized that the space-made Silly Putty will be possible to make, but its viscosity is expected to be different from the Silly Putty we all know and love.
The SpaceX Dragon launched last night at 8:30pm EDT in Cape Canaveral, Florida, which has been the site of tons of Space Shuttle launches in the past. However, the launch didn’t go entirely smoothly. Roughly 80 seconds after the launch, one of Falcon 9′s nine engines failed, but the remaining rockets carried on and were undeterred. The rocket’s systems compensated for the loss in thrust and the capsule will be able to reach orbit safely.
This morning we’re hearing official word from SpaceX that their Dragon capsule launch to the International Space Station didn’t go as perfect as it seemed in the live feed. What you’re about to see is a bit of an explosion, some debris flying from the craft, and a burst of fire. Of course as the fire is surrounded by lots of fire from the rockets surrounding it, it’ll be just a bit difficult to detect – good thing the video is in slow motion and you’ll see it all in all of its glorious detail.
The situation we’re seeing here is what SpaceX calls an “anomaly”, assuring us that the ship is indeed in orbit around the Earth now and that the explosion wasn’t something they were alarmed about as it happened nor now. What you can see looks a lot more serious than SpaceX is making it out to be, that being a burst of flame and a collection of debris falling from the rocket as it continues on its course.
UPDATE: SpaceX has released the following statement on the situation, assuring the public that the mission will continue as planned, and that there wasn’t actually an explosion at all – all is well!
The Dragon spacecraft is on its way to the International Space Station this morning and is performing nominally following the launch of the SpaceX CRS-1 official cargo resupply mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 8:35PM ET Sunday, October 7, 2012.
Approximately one minute and 19 seconds into last night’s launch, the Falcon 9 rocket detected an anomaly on one first stage engine. Initial data suggests that one of the rocket’s nine Merlin engines, Engine 1, lost pressure suddenly and an engine shutdown command was issued immediately. We know the engine did not explode, because we continued to receive data from it. Our review indicates that the fairing that protects the engine from aerodynamic loads ruptured due to the engine pressure release, and that none of Falcon 9’s other eight engines were impacted by this event.
As designed, the flight computer then recomputed a new ascent profile in real time to ensure Dragon’s entry into orbit for subsequent rendezvous and berthing with the ISS. This was achieved, and there was no effect on Dragon or the cargo resupply mission.
Falcon 9 did exactly what it was designed to do. Like the Saturn V, which experienced engine loss on two flights, Falcon 9 is designed to handle an engine out situation and still complete its mission.
We will continue to review all flight data in order to understand the cause of the anomaly, and will devote the resources necessary to identify the problem and apply those lessons to future flights. We will provide additional information as it becomes available.
Dragon is expected to begin its approach to the station on October 10, where it will be grappled and berthed by Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Expedition 33 Commander Sunita Williams of NASA. Over the following weeks, the crew will unload Dragon’s payload and reload it with cargo to be returned to Earth. Splashdown is targeted for October 28
This craft also works with the Falcon 9, projecting the Dragon capsule into space with nine engines. It’s designed so that if any one of its nine engines should fail, the on-board computers will instantly detect it and act. When a failure occurs, the fuel supply will be cut and the unused propellant will be distributed to the remaining engines, this allowing them to burn longer.
Because these engines were also designed to minimize damage to one another should one of them fail, it appears that one one of the nine was knocked out in the anomaly. SpaceX has assured that they’d be providing more information on the exact situation as it unfolds throughout the day [SEE ABOVE]. We must assume at this point that the mission will continue without delay as SpaceX doesn’t appear to have their feathers ruffled too much – stay tuned!
SpaceX and NASA have made history again, with the CRS-1 Dragon capsule successfully launching for its first supply mission to the International Space Station. The first time in history that a private American spacecraft has run such a flight for NASA, the blast-off – atop SpaceX’s own Falcon 9 rocket – marks the beginning of twelve missions to the ISS. According to the CRS-1 timescale, the Dragon capsule is expected to reach the ISS on Wednesday morning, October 7.
The launch itself took place at 8:30pm EDT from Cape Canaveral, though wasn’t entirely smooth. At T+80 seconds – roughly 1:30 into the video below – one of Falcon 9′s nine engines suffered some sort of failure, but the remaining rockets were undamaged and the systems compensated for the loss in thrust, meaning the Dragon capsule could still reach orbit.
SpaceX CRS-1 Launch to International Space Station:
On Wednesday, Dragon will fly up to the ISS and be snatched up by the space station’s robotic arm, manned by station commander Suni Williams. It contains 1,000 pounds of materials, which will be unloaded and replaced – over the course of around three weeks – with near 2,000 pounds of used materials and completed experiments that are to be shuttled back to Earth.
SpaceX CRS-1 Falcon 9 and Dragon Go Vertical:
Since NASA mothballed the Space Shuttles, it has been reliant on other countries to run service missions to the ISS, as well as to transport US astronauts to the orbiting station. However, plans have been in progress for some time to replace the Space Shuttle program with a more cost-effective and manageable alternative, of which SpaceX’s Dragon is one example. NASA has awarded SpaceX a $1.6bn deal for the dozen unmanned missions it will fly over the space of roughly a year.
There’s nothing like a good ol’ fashion rocket launch to spice up a lazy Sunday evening — the SpaceX Dragon capsule is ready to soar. Following a successful docking test back in May, NASA has approved Dragon for a series of delivery missions, carting a thousand pounds of cargo to astronauts on the International Space Station. Today, at 8:35PM ET, the capsule is scheduled to ride a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit — the first of what should be a series of round-trip delivery missions. Barring bad weather or engine problems, it should be a good show — join us after the break to enjoy the launch right here.
Update: Dragon made it into orbit — check out the instant replay after the break.
This morning it’s been confirmed that NASA has given the go-ahead to SpaceX as they launch their second such mission towards the International Space Station with a Dragon capsule. This mission is known as CRS-1 and will be a rendezvous mission with the ISS done in order to resupply the station with a mission-sized load of operational cargo. This is the main difference between the mission that’s taking place now and the SpaceX mission that took place back in May of this year.
The mission will be taking place at 8:35 PM PST on October 7th (tonight) 2012 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This mission will take place just miles away from NASA’s own space shuttle launch pads and the Dragon capsule will – if all goes as planned – join the ISS three days after taking off. Propelling the capsule into space will be SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket – the first stage of this takeoff includes kerosene and oxygen-powered Merlin engines.
The second stage include a single Merlin engine that will make a boost of the Dragon into its orbit which will lead it directly to the station. A pair of solar arrays will be deploying from the Dragon capsule just 11 minutes after it’s been put into orbit. Controllers on Earth will then begin testing rendezvous sensors galore. Video below shows a successful Static Fire test conducted last month for the CRS-1 mission we’re seeing today:
The Dragon capsule will spend right around three weeks connected to the station while supplies are taken out, then it’ll return to Earth. Supplies include a freezer for the station’s scientific samples, a powered middeck locker, and a collection of materials for the astronauts currently living on the station. The locker contains an experiment that NASA is not disclosing at this time.
The mission capsule will be returning with more than a ton (literally) of scientific samples collected at the station. Also included will be hardware used by the engineers up unto this point. This mission’s Dragon capsule will be joined in the future by the Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket, both of them due for demonstration later this year – get pumped up!
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