Approval will allow for the opening launch attempt to take place on September 19, aiming for what will be an instantaneous T-0 of 02:38 local time. Should SpaceX delay, or suffer from a scrub, an alternate opportunity exists for the next day, with an instantaneous T-0 of 02:16 local time.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside a laboratory in the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, vials for the Protein Crystal Growth 2 experiment are being prepared for an acceptance leak test. The vials will be filled with clear water and then put in a vacuum chamber to verify that they are providing adequate containment for liquids. The experiment is one of many that will be delivered to the International Space Station on the SpaceX-4 commercial cargo resupply mission. Kennedy's ISS Ground Processing and Research Project Office is providing the necessary laboratories, equipment, supplies and consumables for 61 principal investigators, including 17 from other countries, as they prepare their science experiments for flight. The SpaceX-4 flight is targeted to launch in September 2014. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
45th Wing weather squadron now predicts 50% go for first opportunity and that improves to 70% go in case of a 24 hr delay.