Posted on 07/17/2016 7:09:07 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
Live launch coverage:
http://spaceflightnow.com/2016/07/17/spacex-9-mission-status-center/
http://original.livestream.com/spaceflightnow
CRS-9 hosted webcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThIdCuSsJh8
CRS-9 technical webcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCCyVCvN2bo
Follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/spaceflightnow/
Latest update:
21:43 p.m. EST
SpaceX installed time-sensitive cargo into the pressurized cabin of a Dragon resupply capsule Sunday in the final hours before liftoff with nearly 2.5 tons of experiments and a critical docking system to welcome piloted commercial spaceships to the International Space Station.
Using a pristine, climate-controlled access port, SpaceX technicians added the “late load” cargo into the Dragon spacecraft while the Falcon 9 rocket sat horizontally at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad.
The ground crew then erected the 213-foot-tall (65-meter) Falcon 9 rocket vertical at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad just after 6 p.m. EDT (2200 GMT) for final preflight checks and fueling.
The Dragon spacecraft perched on top of the slender, two-stage rocket is crammed with nearly 5,000 pounds of supplies. The spaceship will take a two-day trip to the space station, and the research lab’s robotic arm will grapple the approaching Dragon capsule around 7 a.m. EDT (1100 GMT) Wednesday.
The equipment loaded inside the Dragon’s internal compartment includes experiments aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of DNA sequencing in orbit, studying the heart’s response to microgravity, and investigating how to better protect computers from radiation in space.
Mission press kit:
http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/spacex_crs9_press_kit.pdf
CRS-9 Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_CRS-9
Among other cargo, an International Docking Adapter (IDA-2) will be carried to the ISS; IDA-1 was lost with CRS-7 and will be replaced by IDA-3 on CRS-12. This mission will attempt a first-stage landing at Cape Canaveral.
Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch schedule:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Falcon_9_and_Falcon_Heavy_launches
Great post..!
Praying!!
Wow! That Mars Colonial Transport is a monster. Think it’ll ever get built?
Bookmark
Oh yeah. They have already started development of the Raptor engines that will power it. Each engine is expected to develop one million pounds of thrust. That’s 27 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raptor_(rocket_engine)
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2014/03/spacex-advances-drive-mars-rocket-raptor-power/
http://www.parabolicarc.com/2016/01/18/spacex-air-force-funding-infusion-raptor-engine/
SpaceX CRS9 At Pad 40 - 4K - 07-17-2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUfTx-RSOxU
Thanks for all the information. I am now listening to Cunningham on the radio and staying up for the launch...the sky was pretty clear at sundown...might be very pretty and not get lost in clouds for visibility...
Love living here and seeing all this activity.
Small-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting up to 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) to low-Earth orbit
Medium-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting 2,000 to 20,000 kg (4,400 to 44,000 lb) of payload into low-Earth orbit
Heavy-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting 20,000 to 50,000 kg (44,000 to 110,000 lb) of payload into low-Earth orbit
Super heavy-lift launch vehicle, capable of lifting more than 50,000 kg (110,000 lb) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO)
That’s pretty kewl seeing it live in your own backyard!
Brevard County, Florida nite owl launch ping.
This flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket seeks to deliver the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station with its payload of 1.7 tons of supplies as well as an International Docking Adapter. This adapter will allow crewed versions of the Dragon Spacecraft and Boeing's Starliner to perform automated rendezvous and docking maneuvers with the station beginning in late 2017 or early 2018.
Impressively, the company appears to be increasing its launch rate while also making two substantial improvements to its Falcon 9 launch system. The first, recoverability, has gotten the most attention. SpaceX has now landed three of its Falcon 9 boosters on an autonomous drone ship and one on land. Another land-based try is forthcoming—about eight or nine minutes after Monday morning's launch, the first stage of the Falcon 9 will fly back to a landing zone near Cape Canaveral.
The second improvement, using super-cooled liquid rocket fuel, also represents a significant advance. In December 2015, the company debuted its Falcon 9 Full Thrust vehicle, an upgrade from the Falcon 9 v1.1 that included a number of improvements. Perhaps most notable was its use of supercooled liquid oxygen and kerosene fuels. Because colder liquids can be compressed, more of these fuels can be loaded into the Falcon 9's tank. Although it initially led to some difficulties during the fueling process and launch aborts, SpaceX appears to have mastered loading these colder fuels onto the rocket.
The result is a 30-percent gain in power and the ability to launch considerably more mass to low-Earth orbit—22.8 tons now compared to 13.2 with the older version of the rocket. This also means that if you're launching a payload that weighs less than that into space, you've got plenty of fuel left over to stick a first stage landing back on Earth.
SpaceX in 2016: Launching more with a better rocket that it can land [Updated]
I just made a pot of hot tea and assembled my favorite chocolates...ready to go sit by the pool and wait for the show! 12:45? still on schedule...we’ll see.
Staying up tonight to watch? I am ready to go outside and sit and wait!
Yep. I have enough time to watch liftoff on the computer and then go outside to see it clear the trees.
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