Author Topic: SpaceX F9 / Crew Dragon : Crew-2 - LAUNCH - RNDZ - DOCKING: Apr.23/25 - UPDATES (Read 142636 times)

Jansen · « **Reply #220 on:** 04/23/2021 11:10 am »

SpaceX has confirmed F9 second stage performed a deorbit burn for destructive atmospheric re-entry.

Jansen · « **Reply #221 on:** 04/23/2021 11:19 am »

Current approach plan

Everything Space · « **Reply #222 on:** 04/23/2021 11:35 am »

Crew-2 press conference starting with Elon Musk!

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #223 on:** 04/23/2021 11:38 am »

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #224 on:** 04/23/2021 11:42 am »

https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1385559278673702918

Quote

Elon Musk, speaking at the Crew-2 post-launch briefing:

"Thrilled to be part of advancing human spaceflight and looking forward to going beyond Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, and helping make humanity a spacefaring civilization."
cnbc.com/2021/04/23/spa…

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #225 on:** 04/23/2021 11:47 am »

Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 04/23/2021 07:33 am

Interesting explanation earlier of changes to Crew Dragon. 10% increase in abort engine performance has doubled the ground wind speeds that they can safely launch in. Also Dragon now has a go around capability of ISS that enables the exterior of the ISS to be surveyed / inspected / photographed. I think they said this is the only vehicle currently able to do that.

At post-launch news conference Steve Stich said that without the Dragon improvements made since Crew-1, for dealing with on-shore winds, they would not have launched today.

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #226 on:** 04/23/2021 11:51 am »

https://twitter.com/nasahqphoto/status/1385560992977985538

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The @SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen in the distance behind the @uscapitol in Washington as it was launched from @NASAKennedy to @Space_Station. More launch photos coming, keep checking back! 📷 flic.kr/s/aHsmVnkHwE

Everything Space · « **Reply #227 on:** 04/23/2021 11:55 am »

https://twitter.com/genejm29/status/1385562563761541120?

FutureSpaceTourist · « **Reply #228 on:** 04/23/2021 12:02 pm »

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1385564391030935555

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Crew-2 astronauts aboard Dragon check in from orbit. Watch live → spacex.com/launches

Rondaz · « **Reply #229 on:** 04/23/2021 12:36 pm »

NASA, SpaceX Officials Thrilled With Crew-2 Launch Success

Linda Herridge Posted on April 23, 2021

Liftoff of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with Crew Dragon atop, lit up the early morning sky at 5:49 a.m. today, April 23, as it lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Crew-2 astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) are now on their way to the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon.

The four crew members are now a few hours into their 23.5-hour trip. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, will dock autonomously to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module about 5:10 a.m. Saturday, April 24.

“It has been an incredible year for NASA and our Commercial Crew Program, with three crewed launches to the space station since last May,” said NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “This is another important milestone for NASA, SpaceX, and our international partners at ESA and JAXA, and for the future of scientific research on board the ISS. It will be an exciting moment to see our crews greet one another on station for our first crew handover under the Commercial Crew Program.”

The Crew-2 mission is the second of six crewed missions NASA and SpaceX will fly as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. This mission has several firsts, including:

First commercial crew mission to fly two international partners;
First commercial crew handover between astronauts on the space station as Crew-1 and Crew-2 astronauts will spend about five days together on station before Crew-1 returns to Earth;
First reuse of the Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket on a crew mission –Crew Dragon Endeavour flew the historic Demo-2 mission and the Falcon 9 flew astronauts on the Crew-1 mission; and,
First time two commercial crew spacecraft will be docked to station at the same time.
“When I see a launch, I immediately think of what it took to reach this milestone and the dedication of all the people who made it happen,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. “There’s obviously a long way to go, but now we can celebrate the Crew-2 launch and look forward to seeing them join their other Expedition 65 colleagues as we prepare to bring Crew-1 home next week.”

Kimbrough, McArthur, Hoshide, and Pesquet will join the Expedition 65 crew of Shannon Walker, Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Mark Vande Hei of NASA, as well as Soichi Noguchi of JAXA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov. For a short time, the number of crew on the space station will increase to 11 people until Crew-1 astronauts Walker, Hopkins, Glover, and Noguchi return to Earth a few days later.

The Crew-2 members will conduct science and maintenance during a six-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return no earlier than Oct. 31. Adding more crew members aboard the microgravity laboratory increases the time available for scientific activities. The November 2020 arrival of the Crew-1 astronauts more than doubled crew hours spent on scientific research and support activities, and Crew-2 will continue the important investigations and technology demonstrations that are preparing for future Artemis missions to the Moon, helping us improve our understanding of Earth’s climate, and improving life on our home planet.

Tune in to NASA Television or the agency’s website for continuous comprehensive coverage of the Crew-2 mission, including docking at the space station on Saturday, April 24, at approximately 5:10 a.m. EDT.

A welcome ceremony from the International Space Station will take place Saturday, April 24, at 7:45 a.m. EDT, with the following participants:

Steve Jurczyk, acting NASA administrator
Kathy Lueders, associate administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
Hiroshi Yamakawa, president, JAXA
Josef Aschbacher, director general, ESA

Follow along with mission activities and get more information at: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/. Learn more about commercial crew and space station activities by following @Commercial_Crew, @space_station, and @ISS_Research on Twitter as well as the Commercial Crew Facebook, ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-2/2021/04/23/nasa-spacex-officials-thrilled-with-crew-2-launch-success/

jacqmans · « **Reply #230 on:** 04/23/2021 12:38 pm »

https://twitter.com/UCF_Football/status/1385546024421191681?s=20

jacqmans · « **Reply #231 on:** 04/23/2021 12:49 pm »

https://twitter.com/AschbacherJosef/status/1385572875655127043?s=20

Jansen · « **Reply #232 on:** 04/23/2021 12:53 pm »

SpaceX CORE shift change underway

Rondaz · « **Reply #233 on:** 04/23/2021 01:29 pm »

Watch SpaceX Crew-2's on-orbit tour of Crew Dragon Endeavour

yg1968 · « **Reply #234 on:** 04/23/2021 01:31 pm »

https://twitter.com/UniversalORL/status/1385576953382588421

https://twitter.com/blal/status/1385585260663017480

Jansen · « **Reply #235 on:** 04/23/2021 01:34 pm »

Someone is chilly and they’re trying to find sweaters.

That’s what makes it human spaceflight.

Jansen · « **Reply #236 on:** 04/23/2021 01:36 pm »

SpaceX CORE reports that sweaters can be found in Location 2 of the sleepwear bags.

Jansen · « **Reply #237 on:** 04/23/2021 01:41 pm »

Still can’t find the sweaters. NASA cargo handlers have suggested it might be in one of the cargo pallets.

Jansen · « **Reply #238 on:** 04/23/2021 01:43 pm »

No joy on the sweaters. SpaceX CORE is consulting with NASA inventory specialists for a specific location.

Jansen · « **Reply #239 on:** 04/23/2021 01:48 pm »

Sarah Gilles, Lead Space Operations Engineer at SpaceX, is currently the Crew Operations Resource Engineer (CORE) for this shift.