As part of robustly testing the vehicle prior to flight, NASA engineers are reviewing data after a confidence test Feb. 12, in which operators partially filled the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage liquid hydrogen tank to assess newly replaced seals in an area used to fill the rocket with propellant. During the test, teams […]
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and their SpaceX Dragon spacecraft have reached orbit, and the nosecone has opened. The crew will spend roughly the next 34 hours to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station. A postlaunch news conference will […]
At 5:24 a.m. EST, The Dragon spacecraft separated from the Falcon 9’s second stage and began flying on its own. The spacecraft is traveling at approximately 17,500 miles per hour (28,200 kilometers per hour). In less than a minute, the Dragon crew spacecraft nosecone open sequence will begin.
The spacecraft now is in orbit and will autonomously dock to the Harmony module’s space-facing port. The crew will soon open their visors and get out of their suits during the ride.
The first stage of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has completed its descent and landed inside the Space Launch Complex 40 perimeter at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. As previously mentioned, this marks the first time SpaceX has launched and landed a booster from the same launch complex in Florida. On Jan. 30, […]
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket reached Max-Q, the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket. Following this, first stage main engine cutoff occurred, and the rocket’s first and second stages have separated.
The rocket’s first-stage booster is scheduled to return to Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida — marking the first time SpaceX has launched and landed a booster from the same launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Next, the Falcon 9’s second-stage engine will ignite to carry Crew-9 and the Dragon spacecraft closer to the International Space Station.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission lifted off at 5:15 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, are experiencing 2 g as SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket go through a […]
Fueling of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has begun. Loading of rocket grade kerosene liquid oxygen into the rocket’s first stage is underway, and second-stage fueling will begin in a few minutes. Once fueling is complete, the Dragon spacecraft will switch to internal power, the command flight computer will begin final prelaunch checks, propellant tanks […]
The crew access arm has retracted, and the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launch escape system is armed. This system allows NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 crew members to escape safely in the unlikely event of an anomaly from liftoff until they reach orbit — a timespan of roughly 12 minutes.
The launch team has verified that controllers can soon begin loading propellants — liquid oxygen and refined, rocket-grade kerosene called RP-1 — into the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket’s first and second stages. The SpaceX rocket and Dragon spacecraft will carry NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, commander, and Jack Hathaway, pilot, along with mission specialists ESA (European […]
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 team is secure in their seats as the SpaceX crew closed the hatch to the Dragon spacecraft, with less than two hours remaining before liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft previously flew NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 and NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission, as well […]
