At 10:21 ET (15:21 BST), the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 40, putting the Dragon spacecraft on a two day rendezvous with the ISS, with berthing due to occur on June 30. The spacecraft will be filled with more than 4000 pounds of supplies and scientific payloads. The science experiments onboard Dragon will offer a new insight into combustion in microgravity, enable space-based observations of meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere, and make new strides towards being able to grow food in space.
One of the pieces of equipment aboard the Dragon spacecraft will be a camera designed to capture images of meteors. The Meteor investigation will take high-resolution video and images of the atmosphere during times of peak meteor activity. Using software on Earth, bright spots will be searched for and meteors identified. This will enable the first space-based observations of the chemical composition of meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere.
The Dragon spacecraft will also be flying the Veg-03 experiment. Future long-duration human missions to destinations such as the Mars surface will require crew members to grow their own food and live off of it. The Veg-03 experiment will use the Veggie plant growth facility to cultivate a type of cabbage, which is harvested in orbit with samples returned to Earth for testing.
In addition to these scientific investigations, Microsoft’s HoloLens will also be taking the trip to the ISS. HoloLens gives the user augmented reality vision by overlaying imagery over whatever you are looking at. The astronauts aboard the ISS will be able to view annotations over equipment, helping them perform their work aboard the Space Station. This new capability could reduce crew training requirements and increase efficiency at which astronauts can work in space, as well as provide the first use of technology that could be vital for future explorers on Mars.
The Dragon spacecraft comes with an unpressurised trunk in which larger payloads can be stored. For this flight the first International Docking Adaptor will be stored in the trunk. It will be removed from the trunk of the Dragon by the Space Station’s robotic arms and positioned on the ISS once the Dragon has docked. IDA-1 will serve as a method of docking for the Boeing CST-100 capsule and the Crewed Dragon, which are expected to fly to the ISS for the first time in early 2017. The second IDA is expected to launch aboard CRS-9 towards the end of this year.
Current weather reports suggest that the launch has a 90% of green conditions. Make sure to be following DiscoverSpaceToday on Twitter (@iDiscoverSpace) on Sunday for full launch coverage.
The Dragon spacecraft comes with an unpressurised trunk in which larger payloads can be stored. For this flight the first International Docking Adaptor will be stored in the trunk. It will be removed from the trunk of the Dragon by the Space Station’s robotic arms and positioned on the ISS once the Dragon has docked. IDA-1 will serve as a method of docking for the Boeing CST-100 capsule and the Crewed Dragon, which are expected to fly to the ISS for the first time in early 2017. The second IDA is expected to launch aboard CRS-9 towards the end of this year.
Current weather reports suggest that the launch has a 90% of green conditions. Make sure to be following DiscoverSpaceToday on Twitter (@iDiscoverSpace) on Sunday for full launch coverage.