SpaceX F9 : CRS SpX-18 : July 25, 2019 - DISCUSSION

[Sesquipedalian]

Slide 32 has this this to say about SpX-18:

SpaceX CRS-18 Mission Status
Upmass – 3,310 kg estimated

That's quite a jump from the ~2,442 kg of CRS-17.  Is that because of the IDA, or are they debuting new densified packing techniques?

[gongora]

Slide 32 has this this to say about SpX-18:

SpaceX CRS-18 Mission Status
Upmass – 3,310 kg estimated

That's quite a jump from the ~2,442 kg of CRS-17.  Is that because of the IDA, or are they debuting new densified packing techniques?

IDA was listed at 467kg on the CRS-9 flight.

[zubenelgenubi]

Cross-post re: launch time:

http://www.launchphotography.com/Delta_4_Atlas_5_Falcon_9_Launch_Viewing.html

A Falcon 9 is slated to launch the ISS Dragon resupply mission CRS-18 from pad 40 on July 21 at 7:32 pm EDT.

19:32 EDT = 2332 UTC

[whitelancer64]

CRS-11 used the Dragon from CRS-4
CRS-12 was the last flight of a new Cargo Dragon
CRS-13 used the Dragon from CRS-6
CRS-14 used the Dragon from CRS-8
CRS-15 used the Dragon from CRS-9
CRS-16 used the Dragon from CRS-10
CRS-17 used the Dragon from CRS-12

CRS-18  CRS-5 or the first third reuse?

[Alexphysics]

CRS-11 used the Dragon from CRS-4
CRS-12 was the last flight of a new Cargo Dragon
CRS-13 used the Dragon from CRS-6
CRS-14 used the Dragon from CRS-8
CRS-15 used the Dragon from CRS-9
CRS-16 used the Dragon from CRS-10
CRS-17 used the Dragon from CRS-12

CRS-18  CRS-5 or the first third reuse?

On the last CRS mission Hans said the last ones would be third used capsules so I'd say any one of the above already twice-used capsules. The last ones have more probabilities considering they are the last ones out of the production and they introduced a lot of changes from the CRS-8 capsule onwards to improve reuse so maybe next one will be the CRS-9/15 capsule? Or probably the CRS-8/14 capsule? Who knows, but those last ones might have a better chance to be the ones used three times.

[whitelancer64]

CRS-11 used the Dragon from CRS-4
CRS-12 was the last flight of a new Cargo Dragon
CRS-13 used the Dragon from CRS-6
CRS-14 used the Dragon from CRS-8
CRS-15 used the Dragon from CRS-9
CRS-16 used the Dragon from CRS-10
CRS-17 used the Dragon from CRS-12

CRS-18  CRS-5 or the first third reuse?

On the last CRS mission Hans said the last ones would be third used capsules so I'd say any one of the above already twice-used capsules. The last ones have more probabilities considering they are the last ones out of the production and they introduced a lot of changes from the CRS-8 capsule onwards to improve reuse so maybe next one will be the CRS-9/15 capsule? Or probably the CRS-8/14 capsule? Who knows, but those last ones might have a better chance to be the ones used three times.

Thank you, I wasn't sure if that information was already out there or not. Hopefully it's mentioned in a pre-flight press conference, or a tweet, soon.

[Olaf]

http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum18/HTML/001498.html

[Rondaz]

SpaceX Targeting Sunday, July 21, at 7:35 p.m. for CRS-18 Launch

Danielle Sempsrott Posted on June 26, 2019

A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is scheduled to launch at 7:35 p.m. EDT on Sunday, July 21, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This will be SpaceX’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services contract mission to the International Space Station for NASA.

Launch on July 21 results in an arrival at the space station for a robotic capture by Expedition 60 crew members Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA on Tuesday, July 23, at 7 a.m. EDT for about a month-long stay.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex/2019/06/26/spacex-targeting-sunday-july-21-at-735-p-m-for-crs-18-launch/

[Targeteer]

June 27, 2019
MEDIA ADVISORY M19-063
NASA Highlights Science on 18th SpaceX Resupply Mission to Space Station


NASA will host a media teleconference at 1 p.m. EDT Tuesday, July 9, to discuss select science investigations launching on the next SpaceX commercial resupply flight to the International Space Station.

Audio of the teleconference will stream live online at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

SpaceX is targeting 7:35 p.m. Sunday, July 21, 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.

Participants in the July 9 preview briefing will be:

    Bryan Dansberry, assistant program scientist for NASA’s International Space Station Program Science Office, who will share an overview of the research being conducted aboard the space station and how it benefits exploration and humanity.
    Ken Shields, chief operating officer for the International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory, who will discuss the lab’s work in advancing science in space, and in developing partnerships that drive industrialization through microgravity research.
    Charles Cockell, professor of astrobiology at the University of Edinburgh, who will discuss Biorock, an investigation that will provide insight into the physical interactions of liquid, rocks and microorganisms under microgravity conditions for potentially mining materials in space and could benefit long-duration spaceflight missions.
    Valentina Fossati and Andres Bratt-Leal, researchers from the New York Stem Foundation Research Institute, who will discuss the Space Tango – Induced Stem Cells investigation, where cells from patients with Parkinson’s disease and Multiple Sclerosis will be cultured on the space station to examine cell to cell interactions that occur in neurodegenerative disease.

    Tomomichi Fujita of Hokkaido University, who will discuss Space Moss, an investigation that grows mosses aboard the space station, and on Earth, to determine how microgravity affects their growth, development, gene expression, photosynthetic activity and other features.
    Craig Everroad, a scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, who will discuss MVP Cell-02, an experiment that aims to understand the effects of the space environment on microbial evolutionary processes.

To participate in the teleconference, media must contact Joshua Finch at 202-358-1100 or [email protected] by 4 p.m. Monday, July 8, for dial-in information.

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft also will carry crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory to support the Expedition 60 crew for the 18th mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract.

The space station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and enables research not possible on Earth. The orbiting laboratory has been occupied continuously since November 2000. In that time, more than 230 people, and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft, have visited the orbiting laboratory. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars.

For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

[jacqmans]

The International Docking Adapter 3, a critical component for future crewed missions to the International Space Station, is carefully packed away in the unpressurized “trunk” section of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at the SpaceX facility on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 19. It will launch to the orbiting laboratory in July on the company’s 18th commercial resupply mission. The adapter will support future U.S. crewed vehicles visiting the station.

Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson

[jacqmans]

[ahanktcd]

This is on this launch.

https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/techshot-and-nscrypt-to-launch-3d-biofabrication-facility-in-space-156636/

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/tylerg1998/status/1146507778833432576

B1056.2 has arrived back at Cape Canaveral in Florida for the launch of CRS-18 to the ISS on July 18th. This booster previously launched CRS-17 to orbit (and then returned to land at LZ-1) on May 4th. 🚀

In response to:

twitter.com/astroperinaldo/status/1146110295758319616

Google translate:

Guys, I'm next to a Falcon 9 just recovered! They just got it back, just as we were passing by the Kennedy Space Center bus!

[scr00chy]

That's LC-39A on the pictures, right? Was the booster going in or out? I'm thinking it's actually B1047.3. The booster in the pictures has had its legs removed while B1056 was the first one to have them folded up rather than removed. Also, the grid fins have been removed which seems like a strange thing to do for a booster that is going to be reused soon after its first mission. But it would make sense for them to be removed on B1047 which hasn't flown since November so they may have needed to use its fins on another mission.

So maybe this is actually B1047.3 being moved to LC-39A for Amos-17? There were indications that Amos-17 would be launching from LC-39A (probably because there would be a conflict with CRS-18 otherwise).

There is actually a booster number visible in the picture but it's too blurry for me to make out even in the highest resolution image.

[Steven Pietrobon]

If I squint really hard, the number looks closer to 47 than to 56!

[vaporcobra]

If I squint really hard, the number looks closer to 47 than to 56!

Yeah, it's definitely not a B105X booster but the second digit could be a 7 or 9. Does look like the transporter turned around and was backing into the 39A hangar, which is the correct orientation. If I had to guess, SpaceX is just making use of the available space to refurb or store a booster while 39A is inactive, on top of whichever booster was in the hangar as of late June.

[jacqmans]

RUBI – Full steam ahead for the ISS

02 July 2019

Friedrichshafen, 02 July 2019 – The next supply mission (CRS-18) to be launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, will transport a special ‘steam engine’ to the International Space Station (ISS). RUBI (Reference mUltiscale Boiling Investigation), a fluid science experiment developed and built by Airbus for the European Space Agency (ESA), addresses the fundamentals of the boiling of fluids. ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano is set to install RUBI in the Columbus module of the ISS during his five-month ‘Beyond’ mission (from July to December 2019). The fluid experiment will then be operated and controlled by the Belgian User Support and Operation Centre (B-USOC) in Brussels.

RUBI will study the phenomena of phase transition and heat transfer during the evaporation of fluids in microscopic and macroscopic dimensions. RUBI’s core element is a cell filled with fluid, which can be heated and cooled thermoelectrically. The boiling process is then triggered on a metal-coated glass heater using a laser. High-resolution cameras record the formation and growth of vapour bubbles in both the visible and infrared spectrum. By taking up to 500 images per second, RUBI’s cameras can create a three-dimensional representation of the bubble shapes and analyse the temperature distribution on the heater, enabling the scientists to precisely determine evaporation conditions and heat flux densities. The boiling process can be systematically influenced using a high-voltage electrode (up to 15,000 volts) and an adjustable convection loop.

On Earth – thanks to the effect of gravity – only small bubbles form, quickly detaching from the heating surface and masking other physical effects. The scientists want to optimise their numerical models of the boiling process with a series of tests conducted under zero-gravity conditions and corresponding reference tests on Earth. In the future, this could contribute towards the production of more efficient and environmentally friendly household appliances (stoves, radiators) and heat exchangers for industrial manufacturing processes.

A particular challenge for the Airbus-led industrial team was to shrink RUBI down to the size of a ‘shoe box’ (40 x 28 x 27 cm) weighing just 34 kg that would then be suitable for use in space. By comparison, a terrestrial laboratory setup would be approximately the size of a wardrobe (2 x 1 x 1 m) and would weigh some 300 kg.

[SMS]

The ASAP meeting mentioned an EMU going up on this flight.

Which EMU unit will be up, which one will be down? Thanks

[ZachS09]

If I squint really hard, the number looks closer to 47 than to 56!

Yeah, it's definitely not a B105X booster but the second digit could be a 7 or 9. Does look like the transporter turned around and was backing into the 39A hangar, which is the correct orientation. If I had to guess, SpaceX is just making use of the available space to refurb or store a booster while 39A is inactive, on top of whichever booster was in the hangar as of late June.

I thought they planned on using B1056 from the start.

[Orbiter]

Booster by the LC-39A hangar a few days ago was B1048. Checked USLaunchReport's video below of that booster being unloaded and compared the soot marks with the picture in the tweet above. Definitely the same booster. I don't think it's being used for this mission.