SpaceX Falcon 9 goes off ahead of groundbreaking Cargo Dragon launch

by



[ad_1]

SpaceX successfully fired a flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket for the historic launch of the historic Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft.

The weather for tomorrow at 11:39 a.m. EST (4:39 p.m. UTC), the December 5 launch attempt is only 40% favorable, but conditions are expected to improve during a save window around 11:15 a.m. Sunday, rising to 80% favorable. Ready to deliver some three metric tonnes (~ 6,600 lbs) of cargo – including a large commercial airlock – to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA, SpaceX’s CRS-21 mission will mark several firsts for NASA, the States -United and space flights in general.

As previously discussed on Teslarati, barring anomalies, SpaceX believes its Nov. 15 Crew-1 Dragon launch marked the start of a continued in-orbit presence for the company.

“Over the next 15 months, we will complete seven Crew and Cargo Dragon missions for NASA. This means that from Crew-1 there will be a continued presence of SpaceX Dragons in orbit. Starting with the CRS-21 cargo mission, every time we launch a Dragon there will be two Dragons in space – simultaneously – for long periods of time. Really, we are giving back the capacity of the United States for full launch services and we are very, very honored to be a part of it.

Benji Reed, SpaceX – November 10, 2020

Additionally, the continued presence of a Dragon spacecraft in orbit also means that after all future Dragon launches, SpaceX will have two Dragons in orbit. In the history of spaceflight and the International Space Station, only Russia has consistently had more than space station-linked spacecraft (Soyuz and Progress) in orbit at the same time. If successful, the CRS-21 will catapult SpaceX into one of the most exclusive space flight “clubs” in the modern world.

SpaceX’s Crew-1 Crew Dragon docked with the ISS on November 16 and is expected to stay there until May 2021. (NASA)
The first Cargo Dragon 2 spacecraft – essentially a modified Crew Dragon – will join the Crew-1 C207 capsule at the ISS on Sunday, December 6 and is also expected to spend several months in orbit. (SpaceX)

Thanks to SpaceX, for the first time ever, the United States will likely have at least two recoverable spacecraft stationed at the ISS at any given time. Before Dragon 2, only Russia regularly operated two recoverable spacecraft in orbit, and only for a period of a few days or weeks.

Aside from the first orbitals, CRS-21 will also be the first time in history that a new spacecraft linked to a space station (Cargo Dragon 2) will debut on a flight proven rocket (Falcon 9). The Falcon 9 booster supporting the CRS-21 previously launched the launch of SpaceX’s Demo-2 Crew Dragon astronaut, as well as South Korea’s ANASIS II communications satellite and a bundle of 60 Starlink spacecraft.

The B1058 returned to Port Canaveral on October 8 after its third successful launch and landing. (Richard Angle)

For NASA, this will be the space agency’s first launch on two occasions or Three-time Falcon 9 booster flown, as well as the first time a SpaceX booster with commercial (non-NASA) launch history has been certified to launch a NASA mission.



[ad_2]

Source link