. Space Travel News .




STATION NEWS
Dragon Rendezvous With ISS Set for Sunday
by Staff Writers
Houston TX (SPX) Mar 04, 2013


In this photo posted on Twitter by Flight Engineer Chris Hadfield, the SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle soars over sub-Saharan Africa during the approach to the International Space Station. Image credit: NASA.

45th Space Wing Supports Second SpaceX Launch for NASA's Commercial
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) - Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) completed a successful launch of their Falcon 9 Dragon spacecraft, called Dragon CRS 2, from Space Launch Complex 40 here Friday at 10:10 a.m. EDT with safety and range support provided by service members assigned to the 45 Space Wing.

A combined team of military, government civilians and contractors from across the 45th Space Wing provided support to the mission, including weather forecasts, launch and range operations, security, safety and public affairs. The wing also provided its network of radar, telemetry, optical and communications instrumentation to facilitate a safe launch on the Eastern Range.

This is the second of 12 re-supply missions to the International Space Station by Space X. The commander of the 45th Space Wing, who also served as the Launch Decision Authority for this historic launch, praised the work of all those involved in making this launch a success. "We applaud SpaceX and NASA for their great work; and we also praise the teamwork between our wing and all our mission partners involved in making this mission a success," said Brig. Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander, 45th Space Wing.

International Space Station Program and SpaceX managers Saturday gave the go-ahead for the SpaceX's Dragon cargo vehicle to rendezvous with the station on Sunday, March 3.

The station's Mission Management Team unanimously agreed that Dragon's propulsion system is operating normally along with its other systems and ready to support the rendezvous two days after Friday's launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Dragon is scheduled to be captured Sunday at 6:01 a.m. EST by NASA Expedition 34 Commander Kevin Ford and NASA Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn. Once grappled, Dragon will be installed onto the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module by ground experts at mission control in Houston. The cargo vehicle will be bolted into place through commands by Flight Engineer Chris Hadfield of the Canadian Space Agency.

The operation of time-critical scientific experiments being delivered to the station on Dragon will be reviewed during the course of berthed operations to ensure that all planned investigations are completed. Despite the one-day delay in Dragon's arrival at the station, its unberthing, release and splashdown remain planned for Monday, March 25.

SpaceX officials reported to the multinational management team that all of Dragon's systems are operating as planned in the wake of the temporary loss of three of four banks of thrusters after Dragon separated from the Falcon 9 rocket Friday. The time required to recover normal operation of all 18 Draco thrusters and verify their readiness caused the one-day delay.

SpaceX said it has high confidence there will be no repeat of the thruster problem during rendezvous, including its capability to perform an abort, should that be required.

NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and grapple on Sunday, March 3 will begin at 3:00 a.m. Eastern time. Coverage of berthing operations on NASA TV will begin at 7:30 a.m.

.


Related Links
SpaceX
Station at NASA
Station and More at Roscosmos
S.P. Korolev RSC Energia
Watch NASA TV via Space.TV
Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

Get Our Free Newsletters
Space - Defense - Environment - Energy - Solar - Nuclear

...




And it's 3... 2... 1... blastoff! Discover the thrill of a real-life rocket launch.



STATION NEWS
ESA's Columbus Biolab Facility
Paris (ESA) Mar 01, 2013
Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield conducting routine maintenance on Biolab in Europe's Columbus laboratory on the International Space Station. Biolab is an experiment workstation tailored for research on biological samples such as micro-organisms, cells, tissue cultures, plants and small invertebrates. The unit features a centrifuge that creates simulated gravity to comp ... read more


STATION NEWS
'Faulty Ukrainian Parts' Blamed for Zenit Launch Failure

Dragon Transporting Two ISS Experiments For AMES

SpaceX Optimistic Despite Dragon Capsule Mishap

The light-lift member of Arianespace's launcher family is readied for its second mission

STATION NEWS
Lab Instruments Inside Curiosity Eat Mars Rock Powder

NASA fixing computer glitch on Mars Curiosity rover

First-ever space tourist plans mission to Mars

Computer Swap on Curiosity Rover

STATION NEWS
Water On The Moon: It's Been There All Along

Building a lunar base with 3D printing

US, Europe team up for moon fly-by

Russia to Launch Lunar Mission in 2015

STATION NEWS
'Vulcan' wins Pluto moon name vote

Public to vote on names for Pluto moons

The PI's Perspective: The Seven-Year Itch

New Horizons Gets a New Year's Workout

STATION NEWS
Scientists spot birth of giant planet

NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Tiny Planet System

Kepler helps astronomers find tiny exo planet

Searching for a Pale Blue SPHERE in the Universe

STATION NEWS
NASA Partner Orbital Tests Rocket, Newest US Launch Pad

NASA Seeks Big Ideas for Small In-Space Propulsion Systems

Start Me Up!

NASA Awards Final Space Launch System Advanced Booster Contract

STATION NEWS
China plans manned space mission

Welcome Aboard Shenzhou 10

Reshuffle for Tiangong

China to launch 20 spacecrafts in 2013

STATION NEWS
Stott Space Aims to Mine Asteroids this Decade

Meteorite's Powerful Blast Due to Space Collisions

Asteroid impact mission targets Didymos

Comet may give Mars a close shave in 2014




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement