SpaceX Falcon 9 - CRS-8 Dragon - April 8, 2016 - UPDATES

[OxCartMark]

[Raul]

Ok, but keep out zone begins usually at least around the launch pad.
My google map visualization.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zPI-aXRtCFwc.kwrYIXaXWCKM

[Chris Bergin]

Should add it's April 5 for the Static Fire (placeholder).

[Eagandale4114]

CRS - 8 Dragon from instagram.

[jacqmans]

[Ronsmytheiii]

CRS-8 LV from Facebook:

[AnalogMan]

Launch Week Begins for Next Station Resupply Mission
April 4, 2016 at 11:21 am - Anna Heiney

It’s launch week at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, where final preparations are in progress for the planned April 8 liftoff of a SpaceX Dragon capsule aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon will carry scientific research and hardware to the International Space Station, as well as supplies for the orbiting laboratory’s Expedition 47 and 48 crews.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 is targeted for 4:43 p.m. EDT on Friday. A backup opportunity is available Saturday at 4:20 p.m.

The SpaceX CRS-8 mission is the company’s eighth flight under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services Contract.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex/2016/04/04/launch-week-begins-for-next-station-resupply-mission/

[input~2]

WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
ROCKETS.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 082038Z TO 082137Z APR,
ALTERNATE 092015Z TO 092114Z APR IN AREAS BOUND BY:
A. 28-36N 080-37W, 28-40N 080-36W,
28-53N 080-21W, 29-20N 079-50W,
29-17N 079-48W, 28-35N 080-20W,
28-30N 080-33W, 28-31N 080-34W.
B. 29-45N 079-24W, 30-38N 078-36W,
31-53N 077-08W, 31-41N 076-56W,
31-24N 077-14W, 30-22N 078-23W,
29-41N 079-20W.
C. 30-10N 078-51W, 31-13N 077-56W,
33-06N 075-32W, 32-54N 075-09W,
29-55N 078-39W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 092214Z APR 16.//
Authority: EASTERN RANGE OP X6958 LAUNCH 281343Z MAR 16.
Date: 031835Z APR 16
Cancel: 09221400 Apr 16


SOUTHEASTERN INDIAN OCEAN.
WESTERN SOUTH PACIFIC.
SOUTHERN TASMAN SEA.
ROCKETS.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS 082133Z TO 082202Z APR,
ALTERNATE 092110Z TO 092139Z APR IN AREA BOUND BY
32-17S 091-43E, 46-34S 125-12E,
49-57S 168-58E, 51-13S 169-01E,
51-16S 123-28E, 33-17S 091-02E.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 092239Z APR 16.//
Authority: EASTERN RANGE OP X6958 REENTRY 281343Z MAR 16.
Date: 031915Z APR 16
Cancel: 09223900 Apr 16

[jacqmans]

Air Force Space and Missile Museum Foundation:
Our History Center will be closed tomorrow due to SpaceX launch activity.

So I guess there will be a static fire later today, since the museum always closes when SpaceX is doing Falcon-9 stuff

[Chris Bergin]

Today has held firm for the planning date for the Static Fire, but SpaceX traditionally only update when it's completed. So we will need to work with our Cape friends and even those in the area, who see the F9 depart the HIF and go vertical.

That will at least point to the test going ahead.

Actually seeing the Static Fire is hit and miss. Seeing a cloud of exhaust from the two second test is possible for those in the area, but that does not mean the test is good/complete....so be careful with non-official sources like social media. We'll need a note saying test conducted, full thrust, nominal, detanking. We've been very fortunate with getting that confirmation, but as always I'd rather wait (even as late as SpaceX tweeting it) than balls it up and make the claim before confirmation because someone saw exhaust.

Chris Gebhardt pre-test article next, which I'll update when we get confirmation.

[MarekCyzio]

Air Force Space and Missile Museum Foundation:
Our History Center will be closed tomorrow due to SpaceX launch activity.

So I guess there will be a static fire later today, since the museum always closes when SpaceX is doing Falcon-9 stuff

History Center, Space Florida and SpaceX LCC share the same parking lot. Not enough space to park cars.

[Chris Bergin]

Article ahead of the Static Fire later today - by Chris Gebhardt:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/04/spacex-falcon-9-static-fire-crs-8-mission/

[Chris Bergin]

They are still trying to coax the F9 with the promise of LOX and RP-1.  Could be a long evening.

Meanwhile:

April 05, 2016
MEDIA ADVISORY M16-035
NASA Progresses Toward SpaceX Resupply Mission to Space Station

NASA provider SpaceX is scheduled to launch its eighth Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station on Friday, April 8. NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is targeted to lift off on the company's Falcon 9 rocket at 4:43 p.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida, carrying science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory in support of the Expedition 47 and 48 crews.

NASA TV also will air two briefings on Thursday, April 7. At 1 p.m., scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations to be delivered to the station, followed by a briefing by mission managers at 3:30 p.m. The briefings also will stream live on the agency’s website.

About 10 minutes after launch, Dragon will reach its preliminary orbit, deploy its solar arrays and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station.

The spacecraft will arrive at the station Sunday, April 10, at which time NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Tim Peake will use the station’s robotic arm to capture the Dragon spacecraft. Ground commands will be sent from Houston to the station’s arm to install Dragon on the bottom side of the Harmony module for its stay at the space station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 5:30 a.m. on NASA TV, with installation set to begin at 9:30 a.m.

The following day, the crew will pressurize the space between the station and Dragon and open the hatch between the two spacecraft.

The Dragon spacecraft will deliver almost 7,000 pounds of supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital outpost and its crew. The cargo includes the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which will be attached to the space station to test the use of an expandable space habitat in microgravity. Scheduled to return to Earth in May, the Dragon spacecraft will bring back biological samples from astronauts, including those collected during NASA’s one-year mission.

The new experiments arriving to the station will help investigators study muscle atrophy and bone loss in space, use microgravity to seek insight into the interactions of particle flows at the nanoscale level and use protein crystal growth in microgravity to help in the design of new drugs to fight disease.

Dragon is scheduled to return to Earth on May 11. About five-and-a-half hours after it leaves the station, it will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

Media at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will have the opportunity to participate in special tours and briefings on April 7 and 8, as well as view the launch. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. For more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or [email protected].

If the launch does not occur on Friday, April 8, the next launch opportunity is 4:20 p.m. Saturday, April 9, with NASA TV coverage starting at 3:15 p.m.

For an updated schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/content/spacex-crs-8-briefings-and-events

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

[Hywel1995]

Matthew Travis on Facebook reporting Falcon 9 is vertical on the pad.

"Hard to see, but below that vulture is a Falcon vertical on the pad."

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Weather forecast for launch looking good:

80% go launch day (liftoff winds only issue)
90% go 24 hrs later (cumulus cloud rule only issue)

[Chris Bergin]

About an hour remaining in the Static Fire window. Still pressing for an attempt.

[Chris Bergin]

Unofficially, Static Fire conducted!

Unofficial as SpaceX are the only ones who can make it official (which I suspect will be a tweet shortly).

[Navier–Stokes]

Now official:

SpaceX (@SpaceX) tweeted at 10:07 PM on Tue, Apr 05, 2016:
Static fire complete, teams reviewing data in advance of Dragon mission to @Space_Station https://t.co/RFUmKwBdaI
(https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/717534140443144192?s=03)

Edit: Inserted quote of SpaceX tweet.

[Chris Bergin]

And now official! (Which was fast).

Firing was about 9:40pm Eastern, but we couldn't say anything as we were in a holding patten to hear if it was a good firing.

[jacqmans]

SpaceX CRS-8 Briefings and Events


NASA provider SpaceX is scheduled to launch its eighth Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station on Friday, April 8. NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is targeting lift off on the company's Falcon 9 rocket at 4:43 p.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida, carrying science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory in support of the Expedition 47 and 48 crews.

NASA TV also will air two briefings on Thursday, April 7. At 1 p.m., scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations to be delivered to the station, followed by a briefing by mission managers at 3:30 p.m. The briefings also will stream live on the agency’s website.

About 10 minutes after launch, Dragon will reach its preliminary orbit, deploy its solar arrays and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station.

The spacecraft will arrive at the station Sunday, April 10, at which time NASA astronaut Jeff Williams and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Tim Peake will use the station’s robotic arm to capture the Dragon spacecraft. Ground commands will be sent from Houston to the station’s arm to install Dragon on the bottom side of the Harmony module for its stay at the space station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will begin at 5:30 a.m. on NASA TV, with installation set to begin at 9:30 a.m.

The following day, the crew will pressurize the space between the station and Dragon and open the hatch between the two spacecraft.

The Dragon spacecraft will deliver almost 7,000 pounds of supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital outpost and its crew. The cargo includes the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which will be attached to the space station to test the use of an expandable space habitat in microgravity. Scheduled to return to Earth in May, the Dragon capsule will bring back biological samples from astronauts, including those collected during NASA’s one-year mission.

The new experiments arriving to the station will help investigators study muscle atrophy and bone loss in space, use microgravity to seek insight into the interactions of particle flows at the nanoscale level and use protein crystal growth in microgravity to help in the design of new drugs to fight disease.

Dragon is scheduled to return to Earth on May 11. About five-and-a-half hours after it leaves the station, it will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

Media at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will have the opportunity to participate in special tours and briefings on April 7 and 8, as well as view the launch. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. For more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or [email protected].

If the launch does not occur on Friday, April 8, the next launch opportunity is 4:20 p.m. Saturday, April 9, with NASA TV coverage starting at 3:15 p.m.

PRESS ACCREDITATION OFFICE HOURS OF OPERATION

Media badges will be issued at the Press Accreditation Office located on State Road 3, Merritt Island. Badging hours of operation are:

Thursday, April 7: 6:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Friday, April 8: 7 a.m. - 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

PRESS SITE HOURS OF OPERATION

The NASA Press Site at Kennedy will be open as follows:

Thursday, April 7: 7 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Friday, April 8: 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.

“WHAT’S ON BOARD” SCIENCE BRIEFING ON NASA TV

Thursday, April 7 (L-1 day): A science, research and technology briefing will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site at 1 p.m. and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Participants will be:

•Gioia Massa, science team lead for Veg-03, Kennedy Space Center


•Kasthuri Venkateswaran, principal investigator for Microbial Observatory from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California


•Ken Shields, director of operations, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS)


•Michael Hickey, Kristofer Gonzalez-DeWhitt and Rosamund Smith, researchers Eli Lilly and Company


•Mark Mulqueen, International Space Station program manager for Boeing in Houston, for Genes in Space-1


•Anna-Sophia Boguraev, student researcher for Genes in Space-1


•Jason Crusan, director, NASA’s Advanced Exploration Systems Division


•Robert Bigelow, president of Bigelow Aerospace


PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE ON NASA TV

Thursday, April 7 (L-1 day): A prelaunch status briefing will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site at 3:30 p.m. and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Participants will be:

•Kirk Shireman, manager of the International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center


•Kirt Costello, deputy chief scientist, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center


•Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Flight Reliability, SpaceX


POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE ON NASA TV

Friday, April 8: A post-launch news conference will occur at about 6:00 p.m. and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Participants will be:

•Kirk Shireman, manager, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center


•Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Flight Reliability, SpaceX


NEWS MEDIA TOURS 

News and social media participants will receive tours of various facilities and attend briefings about upcoming NASA and commercial partner activities.

Journey to Mars Media Event

Thursday, April 7 (L-1 Day) News media will depart the Press Site by bus at 8 a.m. Media will receive an update from NASA on the “Pick-and-Eat Salad” initiative to develop a sustainable food supplement for long-duration spaceflight in the Space Station Processing Facility. At 9:25 a.m., media will depart for Kennedy’s Swamp Works, where they will hear about on technologies used in deep-space exploration. Immediately following the Swamp Works presentation, media will have an opportunity to view the Orion capsule in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Facility, where they will receive an update on vehicle processing and upcoming testing.

Remote Camera Set Up/Pad Photo Opportunity - Space Launch Complex 40 or Universal Camera Site 3

Friday, April 8 (Launch day): News media will be able to establish sound-activated remote cameras to capture the liftoff from the pad at Space Launch Complex 40. Foreign national media will be able to establish remote cameras at the nearby Universal Camera Site 3. Buses depart the Press Site at 9 a.m. After all cameras are deployed, media will return to the Press Site at 10:30 a.m. with an expected arrival time of 10:55 a.m.

Launch Viewing

Friday, April 8 (Launch day): News media wanting to view the launch from the NASA Causeway will depart the Press Site by bus at 3:15 p.m.

A sign-up sheet will be available in the newsroom for media desiring to photograph the launch from the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Space is limited for this activity so media must sign up in person. At 3:40 p.m., media selected will depart the Press Site for the VAB.

NASA SOCIAL

Up to 50 social media representatives were invited to cover launch. The Kennedy Press Site Annex will serve as their home base, and they will view launch from the NASA Causeway. Social media will attend some of the same activities as the traditional news media and will receive tours of various facilities and briefings about upcoming NASA and commercial partner activities.

NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE

Friday, April 8 (Launch day): NASA TV live coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at 3:15 p.m. Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.

IN-FLIGHT NASA TV COVERAGE

If launch occurs April 8, NASA TV will provide live coverage of the arrival of the SpaceX CRS-8 Dragon spacecraft to the space station. NASA TV will cover the rendezvous and capture of the spacecraft beginning at 5:30 a.m. with installation taking place at approximately 10 a.m. Coverage of the installation of Dragon will begin at 9:30 a.m.

NASA WEB PRELAUNCH AND LAUNCH COVERAGE

Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the SpaceX CRS-8 flight will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and text updates beginning at 3:30 p.m. as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video, podcast and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Gregory B. Harland at 321-861-7401. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at:

http://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex

Learn more about the SpaceX CRS-8 mission by going to the mission home page at:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacex

TWITTER

The Kennedy Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the feed, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/NASAKennedy

FACEBOOK

The Kennedy Facebook feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the feed, visit:

http://www.facebook.com/NASAKennedy

RECORDED STATUS

Recorded status reports on the launch of SpaceX CRS-8 spacecraft and associated prelaunch activities will be provided on the Kennedy media phone line starting Friday, April 8. The telephone number is 321-867-2525.

WIRELESS CAPABILITY

Wireless capability for the news media is available at the Kennedy Press Site.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For video b-roll and other International Space Station media resources, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station