SpaceX Set to Launch NASA CRS-5 Resupply Mission to the ISS (Updated)
Launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. the SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services Flight (CRS-5) will deliver cargo and crew supplies to the International Space Station. It will also carry CATS, a laser instrument to measure clouds and the location and distribution of pollution, dust, smoke, and other particulates in the atmosphere.
Launch date: Friday, January 9, 2014. Delayed from January 6.
The launch on January 6 was postponed apparently because of an actuator drift issue in the Falcon’s Thrust Vector Control on the second stage.
Launch time: 09:47 GMT (4:47 a.m. EST)
LIVE coverage starts at 4:20 a.m. on SpaceRef
NASA CRS-5 News Briefings (Archived)
1) NASA ISS Earth Science Briefing: Cloud Aerosol Transport System (CATS)
2) NASA ISS Research and Technology Briefing
3) SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) -5 Prelaunch News Conference
Current Weather Forecast:
Source: Patrick Air Force Base – 45th Weather Squadron
Vehicle: Falcon 9 Dragon CRS-5
Issued: 7 JAN 2015 / 1300 UTC (0800 EST)
Valid: 9 JAN 2015 / 1009 UTC (0509 EST)
Launch day probability of violating launch weather constraints: 20%
Primary concern(s): Flight Through Precipitation, Thick Cloud Layer
Winds will become gusty for the next few days associated with strong push of cold air as a large high pressure area moves in. Winds will be northerly and brisk, ushering in cold air through Thursday. By launch time on Friday, winds will veer and weaken, adding a slight risk of coastal showers. The primary weather concern is flight through precipitation. A complex sunspot poses only a very slight risk of violating launch criteria. Maximum winds will be from WSW at 75 knots at 44,000 feet. Upper-level clouds thicken late Friday as a disturbance moves into the Central Gulf of Mexico. On Saturday, low-level winds will stay from the northeast and continue to advect stratocumulus clouds with light rain along the Space Coast. The primary weather concerns for Saturday will be flight through precipitation and the addition of thick layer clouds. Maximum winds will be SW at 70 knots at 42,000 feet.
Related: X Marks the Spot: Falcon 9 Attempts Ocean Platform Landing
“During our next flight, SpaceX will attempt the precision landing of a Falcon 9 first stage for the first time, on a custom-built ocean platform known as the autonomous spaceport drone ship. While SpaceX has already demonstrated two successful soft water landings, executing a precision landing on an unanchored ocean platform is significantly more challenging. The odds of success are not greatperhaps 50% at best. However this test represents the first in a series of similar tests that will ultimately deliver a fully reusable Falcon 9 first stage.”
Falcon 9 First Stage Reentry Footage from Plane
