SpaceX Falcon 9 : CRS-14 : April 2, 2018 - Updates

[Targeteer]

CRS-14 Updates thread

NSF Threads for CRS-14 : Discussion / Updates / L2 Coverage March-April / ASDS / Party

NSF Articles for CRS-14:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=CRS-14

NSF Articles for CRS missions :  https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/?s=CRS

Successful launch April 2, 2018 at 1630:38 EDT/2030 UTC on Falcon 9 (reused booster 1039.2) from SLC-40.  Dragon reused from CRS-8.  Booster expended.


External cargo: ASIM, RRM3 MISSE-FF, PFCS


NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT Monday, March 19, to discuss a number of science investigations and instruments launching in April to the International Space Station on the next SpaceX commercial resupply mission. Audio of the teleconference will stream live on NASA’s website.

To participate in the teleconference, media must contact Stephanie Schierholz at 202-358-1100 or [email protected] by 5 p.m. Friday, March 16, for dial-in information.

Pete Hasbrook, associate program scientist for the International Space Station Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, and Michael Roberts, deputy chief scientist at the Center for Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), will kick off the call with an overview of the research and technology aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.

Also participating in the briefing will be:

    Torsten Neubert, National Space Institute at the Technical University of Denmark – Neubert, principal investigator for the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM), will discuss how this Earth observatory will study severe thunderstorms and their role in the Earth’s atmosphere and climate. In addition to space applications, ASIM will help improve current atmospheric models that guide long- and short-term climate predictions.
    Stephanie Murphy and Mark Gittleman, Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance – Murphy, founder of Alpha Space, and Gittleman, the company’s president and chief executive officer, will discuss Alpha Space’s Materials International Space Station Experiment flight facility (MISSE-FF). MISSE will be permanently installed on the exterior of the orbiting laboratory and provide the ability to test materials, coatings, and components in the harsh environment of space, with flight opportunities for experimenters approximately every six months. Testing on MISSE may benefit a variety of industries, including advanced manufacturing of products ranging from protective clothing for astronauts to solar cells.
    Kim de Groh, NASA’s Glenn Research Center – De Groh, a senior materials research engineer, will talk about how exposing 138 polymer and composite samples to the space environment, via MISSE-FF, will provide critical data to improve predictions of materials durability for spacecraft and component lifetimes in low-Earth orbit.
    Elaine Horn-Ranney, Tympanogen, Inc. – Principal investigator for research about wound healing, Horn-Ranney will discuss this investigation into improving the process of antibiotic release from gels that can cover large wounds, a medical advancement that could be used to treat military combat wounds and reduce the occurrence and severity of systemic infection and inflammation.

    Randall German, San Diego State University – German will discuss the Gravitational Effects on Distortion in Sintering (of Metal Powders) experiment delivered in the NASA Sample Cartridge Assembly that seeks to better understand how the lack of gravity affects a process used to produce high-performance products from metal powders. This research could lead to improved manufacturing techniques and has potential as a way to perform in-space fabrication and repair.

    Dr. Guy Trudel, University of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital in Ontario – Trudel, a physician and principal investigator for the MARROW study, will discuss an investigation that looks at the effect of microgravity on bone marrow, blood cells produced in marrow, recovery after space missions, and the application of this data to future space explorers as well as healthcare providers on Earth.

SpaceX is targeting no earlier than 4:30 p.m. April 2 for the launch of its Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Find out more about NASA’s commercial resupply services at:

https://go.nasa.gov/2FPdagj

Learn more about research aboard the International Space Station at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station/research

-end

[Olaf]

https://blogs.nasa.gov/stationreport/2018/03/

JEM Airlock (JEMAL): Today the crew reconfigured the JEM ORU Transfer Interface (JOTI) in support of upcoming Materials ISS Experiment – Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) payload operations.  MISSE-FF will be a permanent external platform on the ISS that is modular and robotically serviceable. Remotely controllable sample carriers will provide sample protection and on-demand picture data previously unavailable on prior experiments.  Sample plates containing a variety of surface materials will be exposed to the space environment outside the ISS for varying durations to inform satellite designers on how different materials degrade over time.  MISSE-FF is currently manifested on SpaceX-14.

Today’s Planned Activities
Structures and Mechanisms JEM ORU Xfer I/F (JOTI) Reconfiguration from MBSU to MTT

[tvg98]

NASA’s upcoming CRS-14 ISS resupply mission will re-fly SpaceX Falcon 9 booster flown on CRS-12. Dragon previously flew CRS-8.

https://twitter.com/flatoday_jdean/status/974719813162602496

[FutureSpaceTourist]

The upcoming SpaceX resupply mission will launch 138 different material samples to @Space_Station. These samples will be part of the first mission to use a new ISS National Lab-sponsored external testing platform.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/predicting-the-lifespan-of-materials-in-space

https://twitter.com/iss_casis/status/975816077379821568?s=21

[Olaf]

https://twitter.com/ASIM_Payload/status/975738020354805760

The #CRS14 launch is all about reusability. @SpaceX first stage flew August 14, 2017 on #CRS12 and the Dragon capsule April 8 to May 11, 2016, on #CRS8. The @ASIM_Payload ISS adapter (FRAM) flew on the EuTEF mission October 2007 to October 2009.

[Chris Bergin]

U.S. National Laboratory Research Geared for SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services Mission to the Space Station

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL. (March 21, 2018) – The 14th Commercial Resupply Services (awarded by NASA) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by SpaceX is targeted for launch no earlier than 4:30 p.m. EDT on April 2. A Dragon cargo spacecraft previously flown on SpaceX’s 8th commercial resupply mission to the station for NASA will now include 20 separate payloads sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory (managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). These payloads represent a diverse combination of science, technology, and the validation of new facilities that will contribute to greater research capacity in the future. Additionally, multiple investigations will launch to station focused on inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Below are highlights of sponsored ISS National Lab investigations that are part of the SpaceX CRS-14 mission.

ABI-Barley Germination

Budweiser (Ft. Collins, CO)

Gary Hanning, Ph.D.

This investigation from Budweiser is continuation research that seeks to evaluate the germination of barley seeds and growth of barley seedlings grown in a microgravity environment. Morphological and genetic effects of the microgravity environment on samples will be assessed in orbit and upon return. A better understanding of barley’s response to microgravity could help investigators adapt the grain for use in long-duration spaceflight.

Hardware Partner: Space Tango

Comparative Real-time Metabolic Activity Tracking

490 BioTech (Knoxville, TN)

Dan Close

The failure rate of new drug candidates upon reaching the preclinical or clinical trial testing phases is greater than 50%. This is an expensive burden for both drug companies and consumers that delays therapies from reaching patients. 490 BioTech will use the microgravity environment on the ISS National Lab to test a novel bioluminescent assay tool kit that may significantly reduce the failure rate of drug discovery efforts. Microgravity promotes superior 3D cell culture growth, enabling drug evaluations that may better mimic the cellular response of human tissues. This investigation will specifically examine anti-cancer therapeutics with downstream applications to other drugs. Economic models suggest that a 10% improvement in failure prediction rates prior to conducting clinical trials could save $100 million in development costs per candidate drug.

Hardware Partner: Bioserve Space Technologies

Genes in Space - 5

Genes in Space Education Program (in partnership with MiniPCR and The Boeing Company)

Elizabeth Reizis (NY) and Sophia Chen (WA)

The Genes in Space student research competition, founded by Boeing and miniPCR and supported by CASIS, invites students to propose pioneering DNA amplification experiments that utilize the unique environment of the ISS. Two experiments were selected as winners from the 2017 competition, both flying on this mission. Elizabeth Reizis, age 14, from Stuyvesant High School in New York will examine the effects of microgravity on the differentiation of immune system cells. Sophia Chen, age 14, from Lakeside School in Washington aims to measure cancer-inducing genomic instability in astronauts. Spaceflight causes many changes to the human body, including a weakened immune system and alterations in DNA. Findings from these experiments could lead to a better understanding of how to safeguard astronaut health in space.

Hardware Partner: MiniPCR

Effects of Microgravity on Controlled Release of Antibiotics and Curing Mechanism of a Novel Wound Dressing

Tympanogen (Norfolk, VA)

Elaine Horn-Ranney, Ph.D.

Combat wounds are commonly associated with sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of wound infection. Sepsis is currently one the most expensive conditions treated in the United States, with patient costs totaling more than $15 billion per year. To reduce the occurrence and severity of sepsis in soldiers, Tympanogen seeks to improve the process of antibiotic release from a novel patch to treat combat wounds. This novel patch, which can be applied directly to a wound site, contains a hydrogel with inherent antimicrobial properties that can promote healing of the wound while acting as a scaffold for regenerating tissue. Reduced fluid motion in microgravity will allow for more precise studies of this hydrogel behavior and its controlled release from the patch.

Hardware Partner: NanoRacks LLC

Higher Orbits Go For Launch!

Higher Orbits (Dulles, VA)

Michelle Lucas

This educational project with students from Morehead (KY), which is part of the Higher Orbits Go For Launch! program, will examine the effectiveness of lactobacillus probiotics in the space environment. The yeast Candida albicans is responsible for a variety of systemic and superficial infections in people with weakened immune systems. This study aims to develop a more complete understanding of the process by which lactobacillus is able to limit Candida growth.

Hardware Partner: Space Tango

Magnitude.io

Magnitude.io (San Jose, CA)

Ted Tagami

This educational project from Magnitude.io allows students to study how different growth phases of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana are affected by the microgravity environment. This experiment is specifically aimed at investigating plant germination and early growth stages.

Hardware Partner: Space Tango

MISSE Flight Facility

Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance (Houston, TX)

The Materials International Space Station Experiments Flight Facility (MISSE-FF), developed by Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance, will provide a permanent commercially available materials science and component testing platform on the ISS. The MISSE-FF platform provides the ability to test samples such as materials, coatings, and components in the harsh environment of space. MISSE-FF enables the integrated testing of how materials react when exposed to extreme conditions in low Earth orbit, including ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, ionizing radiation, ultrahigh vacuum, charged particles, thermal cycles, electromagnetic radiation, and micro-meteoroids.

Hardware Partner: Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance

Multi-use Variable-g Platform

Techshot (Greenville, IN)

The Multi-use Variable-gravity Platform (MVP), developed by Techshot, will provide a permanent, commercially operated facility onboard the ISS capable of producing artificial gravity in space. The MVP includes two internal carousels, each able to host six separate experiment modules, that can simultaneously produce up to 2g of artificial gravity. The facility can accommodate a wide variety of sample types, including fruit flies, flatworms, plants, fish, cultured cells, and protein crystals.

Hardware Partner: Techshot

NanoRacks Microscopes

NanoRacks LLC (Houston, TX)

Carl Carruthers, Ph.D.

The NanoRacks Microscopes facility includes commercial off-the-shelf optical and reflective microscopes. NanoRacks Microscopes utilize plug-and-play USB technology and allow crew members to analyze and digitally transfer images of ISS on-orbit samples.

Hardware Partner: NanoRacks LLC

NanoRacks-NDC-Beta-Amyloid Peptide

Calumet College of St. Joseph (Whiting, IN)

Sandra Chimon-Rogers, Ph.D

Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible neurodegenerative process, is characterized by formation of neurofibrillary tangles of tau protein and plaques, or clumps of amyloid beta peptide, that kill brain cells. Research suggests that an intermediate stage in fibril formation is ten times more toxic and may play a greater role in cell death and development of Alzheimer’s disease. This investigation will examine fibril formation and beta amyloid peptides in microgravity using a fluorescence spectrometer. Results could lead to ways to slow down the rate at which Alzheimer’s disease affects the brain or to eliminate toxic effects of beta amyloid peptide.

Hardware Partner: NanoRacks LLC

Nanoracks-Remove Debris

Surrey Space Centre (in partnership with University of Surrey)

Guglielmo Aglietti, Ph.D.

The amount of space debris orbiting the Earth is a growing problem. Collisions of orbiting space debris can create even more debris, which could damage the satellites and other spacecraft. This project from NanoRacks and the University of Surrey’s Surrey Space Centre will use the RemoveDEBRIS satellite platform to deploy two CubeSats as artificial debris targets to demonstrate four technologies for debris removal (net capture, harpoon capture, vision-based navigation, and dragsail de-orbitation).

Hardware Partner: NanoRacks LLC

NanoRacks-Valley Christian - Effect of BAM-FX Nutrient Solution on Plant Growth in Microgravity

Quest Institute and Valley Christian High School (San Jose, CA)

This payload from the Quest institute includes four independent experiments. The first will examine the effect of microgravity on plant growth properties using the Bio-Available Mineral Formula-X nutrient solution. The second experiment will observe seed germination and tolerance after exposure to an electric field in microgravity. The third and fourth experiments will assess the behavior of heat and humidity in microgravity based on different heating and cooling methods.

Hardware Partner: NanoRacks LLC

National Design Challenge-Boy Scouts of America

Boy Scouts of America – Pathways to Adventure Council (Chicago, IL)

The National Design Challenge is a series of student engagement challenges in which young explorers compete for the opportunity to send experiments to the ISS National Lab. This winning experiment from the Chicagoland Boys Scouts and Explorers is focused on the use of an infrared spectrometer to investigate beta-amyloid peptide, a key contributor towards the proliferation of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Hardware Partner: NanoRacks, LLC

Neutron Crystallographic Studies of Human Acetylcholinesterase for the Design of Accelerated Reactivators - 2

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (Oak Ridge, TN)

Andrey Kovalevsky, Ph.D.

Oak Ridge National Lab, in partnership with the University of Tennessee-Battelle, is sending a second experiment to the ISS National Lab aimed at producing high-quality crystals of the medically important enzyme acetylcholinesterase. Crystals grown in microgravity are often larger and more ordered than those grown on the ground. This investigation seeks to utilize the microgravity environment on the ISS to produce crystals large enough for neutron diffraction analysis. Such analysis could provide essential insights into the enzyme’s structure, how it functions in the human body, and how it might be bound by nerve agents to no longer function. Findings from this investigation could lead to the development of novel therapeutics that may decrease morbidity and mortality rates from exposure to chemical agents that affect acetylcholinesterase, such as overexposure to pesticides (both in humans and livestock) or exposure from potential chemical warfare attacks.

Hardware Partner: Bionetics Corporation

Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology Materials

Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)

This payload, from the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials, seeks to measure the time dilation effect (the idea that time moves more slowly for a moving clock than for one standing still) predicted by Einstein’s theories. To do this, the investigation will examine the performance of a clock designed with nanosecond precision. A secondary payload will examine the mutation rate of isolated plasmid DNA over an extended period of time on the ISS. The DNA sample will be sequenced before and after going to space, and the number of mutations in the flight sample will be compared with the number of mutations in a ground control.

Hardware Partner: NanoRacks LLC

Space Tango Fan Module

Space Tango (Lexington, KY)

Twyman Clements

This investigation seeks to demonstrate the ability of Space Tango’s Fan Module to direct air coming into the facility toward specific internal elements to keep them cooler. Successful demonstration of the Space Tango Fan Module would increase the number and types of investigations able to be carried out onboard the space station.

Hardware Partner: Space Tango

Wisconsin Crystal Growing Contest-Wisconsin Space Crystal Mission

University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI)

Ilia Guzei, Ph.D.

The winning students from the 2017 Wisconsin Crystal Growing Competition will grow crystals onboard the ISS National Lab to test their optimized conditions for Earth-based crystallization against microgravity-based crystallization. The students adapted their Earth-based crystallization methods to prepare a flight project and will compare the crystals grown in microgravity with crystals grown on the ground.

Hardware Partner: Bionetics Corporation

To learn more about these investigations and other station research, visit www.iss-casis.org.

[Olaf]

https://twitter.com/SurreyNanosats/status/976812204564582400

We're happy to say that the Remove Debris spacecraft is now on board SpaceX's dragon awaiting launch NET 2nd April. Stay tuned...  https://www.surrey.ac.uk/surrey-space-centre/missions/removedebris …

[Raul]

SpaceX CRS-14 Mission Overview
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/spacex_crs-14_mision_overview_high_res.pdf

Total Cargo:   5,836 pounds / 2,647 kilograms
Total Pressurized Cargo with Packaging:   3,794 pounds / 1,721 kilograms
Unpressurized Payloads:   2,041 pounds / 926 kilograms

NASA Live
https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive

Sunday, April 1, 14:30 EDT (18:30 UTC): SpaceX CRS-14 "What's on Board" science briefing.
Sunday, April 1, 16:00 EDT (20:00 UTC): SpaceX CRS-14 prelaunch briefing.
Monday, April 2, 16:00 EDT (20:00 UTC): SpaceX CRS-14 cargo mission launch. NASA TV coverage of the launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule on a commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled no earlier than 4:30 p.m. EDT.
Monday, April 2, 18:00 EDT (22:00 UTC): SpaceX CRS-14 post-launch news conference.
Wednesday, April 4, 5:30 EDT (9:30 UTC): SpaceX Dragon capture and berthing to International Space Station. Capture is scheduled at 7 a.m. EDT.

[catdlr]

March 26, 2018
MEDIA ADVISORY M18-053
NASA Television to Air Launch of Next Space Station Resupply Mission


NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX now is targeting its 14th resupply mission to the International Space Station for no earlier than 4:30 p.m. EDT Monday, April 2. Live coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website
Sunday, April 1, with pre-launch events.

Packed with almost 5,800 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. About 10 minutes after launch, Dragon will reach its preliminary orbit, at which point it will deploy its solar arrays and begins a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the International Space Station.

Grapple and berthing to the space station are targeted for April 4. Expedition 55 Flight Engineers Norishege Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, backed up by NASA astronaut Scott Tingle, will supervise the operation of the Canadarm2 robotic arm for Dragon’s capture. After Dragon capture, ground commands will be sent from mission control in Houston for the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station’s Harmony module.

Full mission coverage is as follows:

Sunday, April 1

2:30 p.m. – What’s on Board science briefing, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This briefing will highlight the following research:
Dan Close, chief scientific officer at 490 BioTech, will discuss the company’s Metabolic Tracking
 investigation to evaluate the use of a new method to test, in microgravity, the metabolic impacts of pharmaceutical drugs. This could lead to more effective, less expensive medicines on Earth.

Torsten Neubert of the National Space Institute at the Technical University of Denmark, and principal investigator for the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor, will discuss how this Earth observatory will study severe thunderstorms and their role in the Earth’s atmosphere and climate.

The Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP), developed, owned and operated by Techshot Inc., will serve as a new test bed aboard the space station, able to host 12 separate experiment modules with samples such as plants, cells, protein crystals and fruit flies. Rich Boling, vice president for corporate advancement at Techshot, will discuss the platform, and Sharmila Bhattacharya, a senior scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, will talk about the value of the research that will be conducted on it.

Howard Levine, chief scientist in the Utilization and Life Science Office at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, will discuss continuing research on growing food in space, as the Veggie Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System
 experiment tests a new way to deliver nutrients to plants.

4 p.m. – Prelaunch news conference at Kennedy with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program, SpaceX and the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing.


Monday, April 2

4 p.m. – Launch coverage begins for the 4:30 p.m. launch

6:30 p.m. – Postlaunch news conference at Kennedy with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program and SpaceX.


Wednesday, April 4

5:30 a.m. – Dragon rendezvous and capture. Capture is scheduled for 7 a.m.
8:30 a.m. – Dragon installation to the nadir port of the Harmony module of the station

The Dragon spacecraft will spend approximately one month attached to the space station, returning to Earth in May with results of completed experiments.

The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed, but more information about media accreditation is available by emailing [email protected]

For the latest schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/spacex-crs-14-briefings-and-events/

Learn more about the SpaceX resupply mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

-end-

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Nice shot of @esaspaceflight #ASIM (Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor) inside the @SpaceX #Dragon trunk for CRS-14, once on-orbit it will be installed on @esa #Columbus module, images via ESA/SpaceX more: https://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Research/Atmosphere_Space_Interactions_Monitor

https://twitter.com/DutchSpace/status/978609642652733442

Edit: found higher-res version at http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2018/03/ASIM_in_Dragon

ASIM is at the unit at the bottom of the trunk in the picture

[ChrisGebhardt]

Update list of events/briefing:

L-1 Day (Sunday, April 1)

2:30 p.m. – “What’s on Board” science briefing, highlighting the following research
The Metabolic Tracking investigation by 490 BioTech will evaluate using a new method in microgravity to test the metabolic impacts of pharmaceutical drugs. This could lead to more effective, less expensive medicines on Earth.
The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor, an Earth observatory that will study severe thunderstorms and their role in the Earth’s atmosphere and climate.
The Multi-use Variable-g Platform (MVP), developed, owned and operated by Techshot Inc., will serve as a new test bed aboard the space station, able to host 12 separate experiment modules with samples such as plants, cells, protein crystals and fruit flies. Rich Boling, vice president for corporate advancement at Techshot, will discuss the platform, and Sharmila Bhattacharya, a senior scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, will talk about the value of the research that will be conducted on it
Howard Levine, chief scientist in the Utilization and Life Science Office at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, will discuss continuing research on growing food in space, as the Veggie Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System experiment tests a new way to deliver nutrients to plants.

4 p.m. – Prelaunch news conference with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program, SpaceX, and the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base


L-0 Day (Monday, April 2)

12:30 p.m. – Commercial Crew Program Update with Steve Stich, deputy program manager at Johnson Space Center, in the KSC News Room

4 p.m. – Launch Broadcast Begins

4:30 p.m. – CRS-14 Launch

6:30 p.m. – Post-Launch News Conference

[Chris Bergin]

NET for the Static Fire is today (11 AM window open), but would like to have visual confirmation of the booster on the pad when the Americans are out of bed

--

EDIT: On the pad. Article next.  Note: It's for the Static Fire, but there's so many of these we try and change it up, so this is more about ISS preps for Dragon and such. Eventually we won't run an article for each and every Static Fire test as there will be so many!).

[Chris Bergin]

Article for the Static Fire (but as noted above, changing up the angle of the article to cover more than just the Static Fire test).
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/03/falcon-9-crs-14-mission-static-fire-testing/

[Chris Bergin]

Potential Static Fire:

https://twitter.com/mcconnot2/status/979048895627087872
Just seen a large cloud from the roof of the port canaveral exploration tower!!! In the direction of LC-40!!!


--

Of course, wait for SpaceX's tweet.

[Chris Bergin]

Static Fire confirmed!
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/979053735195193344

[vaporcobra]

That's one hell of a long SF! 8-10 seconds if the video is real-time.

[Raul]

M1382 CRS-14 Launch Hazard Areas visualization based on issued NOTMAR and NOTAMs.

Green launch hazard area A doesn't include LZ-1 this time.
Orange landing/splashdown area B is relatively far away compare to previous CRS missions.
Despite the FCC application referring to LZ-1 recovery, this is apparently expendable mission for block4 B1039.2.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Instantaneous launch window for CRS-14's Monday, 2 April attempt is 16:30:41 EDT (20:30:41 UTC) right now.  This always moves around by a few seconds by the time we get to the actual day.  But this is the plan as of right now.

[Ronsmytheiii]

Rocket was still on the pad, but HIF door was open so probably prepping to go horizontal and into the HIF:

yesterday (3/29) 15:27 UTC Per Planet imagery

https://goo.gl/hpDkES

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Launch weather forecast 80% GO:

Launch day probability of violating launch weather constraints: 20%
Primary concern(s): Flight Through Precipitation, Cumulus Cloud Rule
   
Delay day probability of violating launch weather constraints: 20%
Primary concern(s): Cumulus Cloud Rule, Thick Cloud Layer Rule

[Michael Baylor]

GO Quest has been sent out and she looks to be following the CRS-14 trajectory. There are no fairings, so this is likely related to a first stage water landing test. Based on the hazard zones, there probably won't be a boostback burn.

Edit: Oh, and I know the destination says Jacksonville on MarineTraffic. They went their last time for maintenance. I believe that's just outdated from the previous trip.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Launch hazard area

[FutureSpaceTourist]

L-2 lunch weather forecast, no real change - still 80% GO:

Launch day probability of violating launch weather constraints: 20%
Primary concern(s): Flight Through Precipitation, Cumulus Cloud Rule
   
Delay day probability of violating launch weather constraints: 20%
Primary concern(s): Cumulus Cloud Rule, Thick Cloud Layer Rule

[Scylla]

Well, this just appeared on YouTube.



Scheduled for Apr 2, 2018SpaceX is targeting Monday, April 2 for an instantaneous launch of its fourteenth Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-14) at 4:30 p.m. EDT, or 20:30 UTC, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

An instantaneous backup launch opportunity is on Tuesday, April 3 at 4:08 p.m. EDT, or 20:08 UTC. Dragon will separate from Falcon 9’s second stage about 10 minutes after liftoff and attach to the space station on Wednesday, April 4.

Both Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft for the CRS-14 mission are flight-proven. Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the CRS-12 mission in August 2017 and Dragon previously supported the CRS-8 mission in April 2016.

SpaceX will not attempt to recover Falcon 9’s first stage after launch.

Dragon will be filled with about 5,800 pounds of supplies, payloads and vehicle hardware, including critical materials to directly support science and research investigations that will occur onboard the orbiting laboratory.

SpaceX CRS-14 is the fourteenth of up to 20 missions to the International Space Station that SpaceX will fly for NASA under the first CRS contract. In January 2016, NASA announced that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft were selected to resupply the space station through 2024 as part of a second Commercial Resupply Services contract award. Under the CRS contracts, SpaceX has restored an American capability to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo, including live plants and animals, to and from the orbiting laboratory. A variant of the Dragon spacecraft, called Crew Dragon, is being developed for U.S.- based crew transport to and from the space station.

On Wednesday, April 4 International Space Station crew members will use the station’s 57.7-foot (17.6-meter) robotic arm to reach out and capture the Dragon spacecraft and attach it to the orbiting laboratory.

Dragon will return to Earth with more than 3,900 pounds of cargo after an approximately one-month stay at the International Space Station. About five hours after Dragon leaves the space station, it will conduct its deorbit burn, which lasts up to 10 minutes. It takes about 30 minutes for Dragon to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

For more information about the mission and payloads, visit www.nasa.gov/spacex.

[Scylla]

PRESS KIT

[RocketLover0119]

Here is the patch:
8 stars= previously flown Dragon from CRS-8

PRESS KIT

[ChrisGebhardt]

L-1 day launch briefing is at 16:00 EDT (20:00 UTC) today.

If you have any questions specifically about CRS-14, PM me and I'll try to ask what I can.  (NOTE to other mods: I will remove this from the updates thread once the briefing starts, but I'm putting this here so people will see it.)

[ChrisGebhardt]

L-1 day weather.  No changes at all.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Science going up.

5,800 lbs of experiments headed to orbit on Dragon/CRS-14, including external experiments.

55/56 Increment, 280 experiments going on.  CRS-14 will help progress of 50 of those. 

ISS has now performed fo 2,500 experiments, 3,000 PIs, and 1,500 peer reviewed science papers they've bene able to track.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Bone marrow experiment going up to see if fat cell creation happens at expense of red blood production.

Fluid shifts to study effects of microgravity to vision.

Bone turnover improvements - how bones regenerate to learn about age-related bone issues on the ground.

Cardiopulmonary study, advanced clothing studies.

All experiments are internationally related.  All use ISS crew as subjects.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Tech side:

Computer systems, multi-platform system performance.

Creating solid and metals through heat.

MISSE is being use for validation that the MISSE facility works.

SpaceX will return cargo for bio research.  Bringing hardware home, too -- Robonaut is coming home (launched on STS-133/Discovery)

[ChrisGebhardt]

APEX-6:

Looking for seed germination and how roots grow in microgravity.  Harvesting tissue and doing genetic expression analysis back on Earth.  Data will be made available to community at large.  It will NOT come back on this mission.

Coming back is a previous planet growth experiment that studied growth in different gravity environments (it launched on CRS-13 in December 2013).

Designed to understand planet growth to look at best plants and growth methods for interplanetary missions.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Materials experiment:

Making metal with nothing but heat.  Issue with this is that pours form more readily in microgravity creation of solid.  If we need to make parts to repair equipment, we've got to understand what's happening with making alloys in space.

[ChrisGebhardt]

CASIS updates:

Some companies sending continuation paylaods/experiments up to Station.

Talking about balance between SpaceX and Orbital ATK -- SpaceX missions tend to focus more on life sciences missions because of Dragon's return capability v. Cygnus which focuses more on materials experiments.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Robonaut - stopped powering up.  Crew performed troubleshooting.  Some short in electrical system that not there in Robonaut onboard v. those on ground. 

Should go back up on another commercial resupply

-----

[Chris Bergin]

Chris and Brady!

[ChrisGebhardt]

Bioluminescence experiment going up, too.  New tech called auto-bioluminescence that get continuously monitor any living cell (instead of snapshots) and track metabolic activity in real-life.  Light is used to judge health of cell.

Important because on Earth this can reduce the cost of therapeutic compounds.

Glowing cells will be treated on ISS and ground to demonstrate effectiveness of therapeutic compounds of those already approved for human use and those that failed to pass measures to use in humans and comparing result to allow companies to better understand what compounds won't work - thus saving money.

Goal is to send up cells, get data back digitally or physically if needed.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Atmosphere Space Interaction Monitor

Studying severe thunderstorms - gigantic lightning shooting upward from thunderstorms (we've only known of them for about 15 years) and flashes of high radiation (terrestrial gamma ray flashes).  First experiment to look for these things in space.

Instruments: x- and gamma-ray monitor and cameras.

External experiment that will be mounted to ESA Columbus module.

Interested in what these flashes are?  We know the physics but not how they are generated.  This combo of instruments will take the first step of understanding these further.  In the dilute atmosphere, everything happens slower (and larger) than it does closer to the ground. So it will look a lightning sub-processes.  ISS provides "balcony view" of these storms. If we know about lightning, we know more about what it does to the atmosphere.

Guaranteed 2 years outside ESA Columbus.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Multi-use Variable-g Platform

New platform from TechShot to host experiments on ISS. "provides the picks and shovels that others use to make discoveries."

About the size of a large microwave oven.  Aside from crew inserting and removing experiment module from the overall device, it's all automated and controlled from facility in Greenville, Indiana, or Space Life Science Lab at KSC.

NASA will use the facility first to validate it.  The experiments from NASA will be: fruit flies to study effect of spaceflight on immune system against a pathogen for fruit flies and humans (i.e.: does the pathogenicity of a pathogen change in microgravity and how does changes in an immune system in microgravity effect the host's ability to combat the pathogen.

First experiment has 600 fruit flies.  When it comes back in a month, they expect 100 times more fruits flies to return.

This new hardware helps because:
1) Sample size - good population sample size allowed with this new unit.  You can then get new generations of fruit flies over several months to a year.
2) Centrifuge provides 1g environment in space so that you can differentiate if its gravity of other aspect of space that affects the fruit flies; also also to distinguish between shock of launch and landing.
3) it's the "Tesla" of what we need.  It has temp control and humidity control.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Food.  In.  Space!

7 new ways of growing plants in space experiments are launching on CRS-14.  This will test replacement of VEGGIE units, which have seen issue with uniformity of growth on the ISS.

Another round of these goes up in May on OA-9E/Cygnus.

They can get 3 or 4 harvests from these plants, not just one.

Same weight as VEGGIE units.  But VEGGIE units are one-and-done, whereas these new units are built for reuse.

[ChrisGebhardt]

All participants are here.  Pre-launch news conference will start on time.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Joel (Deputy ISS manager):

Dragon returning with over 4,000 lbs of equipment/experiments.

Capture is Wednesday at 07:00 EDT -- about 1.5 days fo phasing to ISS.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Jessica:

Instantaneous launch window.  30 days-ish

Monday April 2 launch: 16:30:38 EDT

Backup on Tuesday 4/3 at 16:08:03 EDT.

Talks about reusability becoming the norm.

[ChrisGebhardt]

14th of 20 missions for CRS-1 contract.

CRS-2 then kicks off in 2019 and runs through 2024.

First two CRS-2 SpaceX missions approved by NASA.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Mike:

Front that's draped over FL is dissipating, "good shot at launch tomorrow."

Fog might push back in tonight, but will be burnt off by T0 tomorrow.

[Chris Bergin]

First question again

[ChrisGebhardt]

24hrs scrub - no swap out of late-stow.  Beyond that, yes.

Dragon refurb - This was first Dragon (CRS-8) with additional water sealing.  And it really paid off.  Able to reuse more components on this Dragon than others.  Only a handful of things not reused (heat shield, parachutes, trunk).  Everything insider capsule is being reused.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Dragon-1's are certified for 3 missions.  None have done that yet, but there's a chance one might fly three times.

[ChrisGebhardt]

No firm plans for additional 1 year crew member increments on ISS.

[ChrisGebhardt]

This booster is expendable is to test landing procedures/practices that push the bounds. This booster has already flown.  trade between land or do demonstration to fly a trajectory toward the limits to collect data for the future.

[Mapperuo]

[theinternetftw]

Transcript of the Pre-Launch Presser

[catdlr]

Part 2 of the conference.

What's Onboard the SpaceX CRS-14 Dragon Spacecraft

Space Videos
Published on Apr 1, 2018

Mission scientists discuss with the media what experiments the unmanned SpaceX Dragon CRS-14 spacecraft is bringing up to the International Space Station when it launches tomorrow at 20:30 UTC, April 2nd, 2018 on a Falcon 9 rocket.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Photo from SpaceX website

[Chris Bergin]

Feature article by William Graham:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/04/crs-14-spacex-falcon-9-second-flight-previously-flown-dragon/

Chris Gebhardt and Brady Kenniston at the launch (and the article will evolve as more and more photos come in).

[ChrisGebhardt]

No change to weather.  Everything still the same.  80% "go" prediction not including Upper Level Winds.

[shuttlefan]

No change to weather.  Everything still the same.  80% "go" prediction not including Upper Level Winds.

Chris how are upper level winds looking?

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Closer shot:

The @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the #Dragon spacecraft is preparing to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in FL.  Our #NASASocial participants are ready for 🚀 scheduled at 4:30pm today.  Watch live at: NASA.gov/live

https://twitter.com/nasakennedy/status/980822080777281542?s=21

[FutureSpaceTourist]

As always, Tom Cross nails it

Still looking good for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 & Dragon launch to the ISS today at 4:30pm est! Preflown booster with some incredible scars and look - no number on the booster and it’s expendable. #spacex #falcon9

https://twitter.com/_tomcross_/status/980827208229978114?s=21

[ChrisGebhardt]

The countdown clocks have started here at Kennedy.  No change to precise launch time of 16:30:38 EDT (20:30:38 UTC)

[JoerTex]

Light showers on RADAR,  Forming around Melbourne moving North,  Staying ashore, West of the Interstate Highway.

[ChrisGebhardt]

AFTS checks beginning now.

Blast Danger Area (BDA) clear.

[ChrisGebhardt]

T-90mins.  No issues.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Team is polling "go / no go" for fueling.

[ChrisGebhardt]

T-70mins.  Auto-sequence has started.  Fueling has begun!

[ChrisGebhardt]

Launch team has also received their final abort instructions, standard practice for what to do if off-nominal events occur from here to T0.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Rain showers are developing but staying well to the west. They've been more or less stationary for the last hour.

One of our weather concerns is a pop-up shower that violates our "no flight through precip" rule.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Stage 2 RP-1 load has started.

[ChrisGebhardt]

T-50mins.  The LD loop is very quiet.  A good sign.  All is proceeding perfectly to plan.

[ChrisGebhardt]

T-40mins.  All still quiet and proceeding to the plan.

[ChrisGebhardt]

T-35mins.  LOX load has started for F9 Stage 1.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Dragon terminal count sequence has started.

[Steven Pietrobon]

NASA coverage starting in the next minute.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Coverage has started.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Joshua Finch providing commentary.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Weather officers watching anvil clouds 8 nmi from the pad.  No lightning.  We're still GO at this time.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Currently go for weather. Flight through precipitation and cumulus cloud rule are the 20% violation concerns.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Stage 2 RP-1 load closed out.

[Ronsmytheiii]

all green on the board!

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-25 minutes.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Talking about reusability.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Some of the payloads.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-20 minutes. Talking about PODS, Passive Orbital Delivery System.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Delivery of water to plants has been inconsistent in past.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Flight Proven funky music has started.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Dan Huot with Randy Bresnik.

[ChrisGebhardt]

LD loop still super quiet.  All is still proceeding to plan.

[Steven Pietrobon]

ISS Mission Control.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-15 minutes.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-13 minutes. SpaceX coverage has started.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-12 minutes. Booster flew on SpX-12. Capsule on SpX-8.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-10 minutes. Tracking no issues.

[andrewsdanj]

SpaceX feed: 'pushing the limits' on the S1 entry.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-9 minutes. Capsule has new external TPS.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-8 minutes. Range is ready to go.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-7 minutes. Engine chill should be starting now.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-6 minutes. Crew Dragon expected to fly later this year.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-5 minutes. Some of the payloads flying in SpX-14.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-4 minutes.

[Chris Bergin]

As per usual, only live coverage people to post on this thread during the launch and all posts of congrats after launch should go on the party or discussion threads for this mission.

[marsbase]

briefcase in lower right corner of youtube screen

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-3 minutes. Finished topping off propellant loading.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-2 minutes. Dragon is on internal power.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T-1 minute. Falcon 9 is in startup.

[Lar]

Final 2 min of the mission (hope that was a slip)

[Steven Pietrobon]

Liftoff!

[Chris Bergin]

LAUNCH!

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+1 minute.

[Chris Bergin]

[Lar]

t+

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+2 minutes.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Separation and ignition.

[Chris Bergin]

1-2.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+4 minutes.

[Lar]

meco

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+5 minutes.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+6 minutes.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+7 minutes. Engine performance continues to be nominal.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+8 minutes. Stage 1 AFTS has safed.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+9 minutes.

SECO.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+10 minutes.

Separation!

[Chris Bergin]

MECO...good orbit - and S/C Sep. Dragon has separated from the Falcon 9 second stage. Solar Array deploy next.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+11 minutes. Solar array deployment soon.

[Steven Pietrobon]

T+12 minutes.

[Lar]

dragon deploy... droneship?

[Steven Pietrobon]

Venting.

Solar arrays deploying.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Solar arrays deployed.

[Lar]

array deploy

[Steven Pietrobon]

SpaceX coverage ending.

[Chris Bergin]

Epic launch photos from Brady for NSF:
https://twitter.com/TheFavoritist/status/980909355116695555

More on the link, but one for the thread.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Launch replays next.

[Mapperuo]

[SciNews]

SpaceX feed

NASA feed

[BradyKenniston]

Liftoff!

[Steven Pietrobon]

Launch replays and end of NASA coverage.

[Mapperuo]

[ChrisGebhardt]

Briefing participants are here.  Post-launch news conference will being on time.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Joel -- ISS Deputy Director

Congrats to SpaceX.  Great day.  Another Dragon in orbit puts a smile on our face.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Jessica -

Beautiful launch.  7th launch in just 3 months.  Weather nail biter, but anvil cloud stayed just far enough away that we were good.

Dragon prop system functioning properly on orbit.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Dragon has hundreds TO thousands of thruster firings to adjust altitude and attitude before it reaches Station.  But just a few major burns to adjust altitude/trajectory to get to Station.

[RocketLover0119]

Briefing over, One extra thing worth noting that wasn't noted is that the stage 1 data was zeroed in specifically on the re entry.

[Michael Baylor]

IDA-3 will launch on CRS-18.

[yg1968]

IDA-3 will launch on CRS-18.

He said that he wasn't sure and that he needed to check his notes. I doubt that he is correct, it's probably still on SPX-16 as it's been since July 2016.

[theinternetftw]

Transcript of the Post-Launch Presser

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Some launch photos posted by SpaceX

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Merlin Engines and Dark Flames as promised. From today’s SpaceX launch to the International Space Station for Commercial ReSupply 14 @SpaceX #crs14 #falcon9

https://twitter.com/_tomcross_/status/980960622492966912

[FutureSpaceTourist]

We really are spoilt these days with so many excellent launch photographers. Here are a couple from John Kraus:

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/980946087581290496?s=21

https://twitter.com/johnkrausphotos/status/980950965015769090?s=21

[catdlr]

SpaceX CRS-14 Dragon Launch - UP CLOSE VIEWS

AmericaSpace
Published on April 3, 2018

[FutureSpaceTourist]

The @spacex #CRS14 #Dragon with #ESA @esaspaceflight #ASIM @ASIM_Payload is currently ~20 minutes ahead of the #ISS and closing in on a Western European pass

https://twitter.com/dutchspace/status/981223888683175936

[Olaf]

Is there any conformation, that Overview 1A is inside Dragon. I haven´t find anything on NanoRacks or SpaceVR.

[Apollo_kid]

Is there any conformation, that Overview 1A is inside Dragon. I haven´t find anything on NanoRacks or SpaceVR.

From: Gunter's space page:

http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/overview-1.htm


Overview 1A   TBD   02.04.2018   CC SLC-40      Falcon-9 v1.2   with Dragon CRS-14, MISSE-FF 1, ASIM, PFCS, RemoveDEBRIS, DebrisSat 1, DebrisSat 2

[Skyrocket]

Is there any conformation, that Overview 1A is inside Dragon. I haven´t find anything on NanoRacks or SpaceVR.

From: Gunter's space page:

http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/overview-1.htm


Overview 1A   TBD   02.04.2018   CC SLC-40      Falcon-9 v1.2   with Dragon CRS-14, MISSE-FF 1, ASIM, PFCS, RemoveDEBRIS, DebrisSat 1, DebrisSat 2

I am not really sure, if it is on board.

But Irazú, the first Costa Rican satellite is onboard.
https://news.co.cr/costa-rica-launches-its-first-satellite-into-space-april-2/72002/
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/irazu.htm

[Chris Bergin]

To ISS updates:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=45401.0

[Lewis007]

A nice set of launch pics has been posted on NASA KSC's Flickr page
see: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/albums/72157689408330410

[Steven Pietrobon]

Not sure how reliable this tweet is, but Julius Mbuvi from Kenya says that the cubesat 1KUNS-PF was onboard.

"1KUNS-PF, Kenya's first micro-satellite, is among the items in the 5800 pounds SpaceX Dragon cargo that have been launched into space, heading to the low-earth orbital lab, the International Space Station"

https://www.trendsmap.com/twitter/tweet/980929177582030850

This article from early March says the satellite will be launched in March to ISS.

"It will be sent to the International Space Station in March, before being put into service about a month later."

http://temmybalogun.com/kenyan-university-engineers-make-countrys-first-satellitegets-1-million-support-fund/

The University of Nairobi hasn't said anything yet, but that may be because they are waiting for the satellite to be deployed from ISS.

http://www.uonbi.ac.ke/

[Steven Pietrobon]

This article says that Ubakusat was also aboard.

https://translate.google.com.au/translate?hl=en&sl=tr&u=http://www.gunes.com/gundem/turkiyenin-kup-uydusu-ubakusat-spacex-falcon-9-roketi-ile-uzay-istasyonuna-gonderildi-863065&prev=search

[Olaf]

As mentioned in the ISS schedule thread, these three satellites will be launched as J-SSOD#8 NET April.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

NASA webcast archive

[Jdeshetler]

NASA Long Range Video Launch - Dragon CRS 14 - Stabilized -2X faster

[catdlr]

Close up view of a Drangon capsule and upper umbilical cables during launch


Jeff Seibert
Published on Apr 7, 2018

A Falcon 9 rocket takes off from Pad 40 of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launching the CRS-14 mission on April 2, 2018. It is taking supplies, experiments and parts to the International Space Station.

[Chris Bergin]

One of the CRS-14 payloads:

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/06/space-debris-removal-test-begins/