Falcon 9 rocket blasts off with Dragon spacecraft from pad LC-40.
In a remarkable first for space exploration, a private corporation has
sent a spacecraft carrying supplies to the International Space Station.
After the launch abort on May 19th, Space Exploration Technologies
(SpaceX) engineers replaced a faulty check valve on engine number 5
(dubbed "Merlin") and prepared for a new countdown. Early this morning
at 3:44 am EDT, the engines ignited perfectly and the Falcon 9 rocket
made a smooth and flawless flight into space. The Dragon capsule
separated without error and entered low Earth orbit. On schedule, the
Dragon deployed its twin solar panels, a first for SpaceX and the Dragon
design. The next step was to "open the pod bay door"(a reference to the
movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, if you haven't seen it, you're not a
space fan...). The navigation bay pod door has to open in order to
deploy several experiments and reveal the docking latch, that will be
used by the ISS robotic arm to grapple the Dragon prior to docking.
Engineers breathed a sigh of relief as the door successfully opened
(SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that it was a better result than that on 2001).
Dragon is on course to pass by the ISS on DAY 4 of its mission, should
all orbital tests be completed. After that, the Dragon will approach the
station again for a rendezvous with the CanadArm for docking. A lot of
hope rides on this mission, and should it be completed successfully, it
will end the test phase of the COTS2 program for SpaceX and the company
will begin regular supply missions to the ISS, a great leap for
commercial space applications.
SpaceX, NASA prepare for Dragon launch
Liftoff! No- Wait- Guess not...
Wonderful thing, that technology. I have this amazing device called an
alarm clock that woke me a half hour before SpaceX's expected flight of
the Dragon spacecraft in the wee hours of May 19. I switched to NASA TV,
and there it was, SpaceX's Falcon rocket with Dragon spacecraft ready
to launch. Everything seemed ready to go, until the actual launch. Then
as the engine began ignition, the system automatically shut down (as it
was designed to do) at T- 0.5 seconds. The cause: higher pressures than
allowed in the center engine of the Falcon rocket.
Well, better an abort than a mission failure! There is an awful lot of
space business riding on this mission. It will be the first commercial
cargo delivery to the ISS and the start of a new way of doing space
business for our country. Unfortunately, there are some people in
congress who do not want space business out of the hands of the
government. For my part, I'm hoping this mission will be a tremendous
success. Within seconds, SpaceX engineers were working to resolve the
problem and set the mission back on the timetable. And they have done
so. A faulty check valve on the "Merlin" engine - no. 5- on the first
stage is the guilty party, and currently engineers are switching out the
valve. SpaceX and NASA will try agian on Tuesday, May 22, at 1:44 a.m.
MDT. Time to set that alarm again.
Soyuz TMA-04M docked at ISS. Part of ISS blocks the front module of the Soyuz capsule.
Meanwhile, up in space... The second part of the Expedition 31 crew
arrived at the ISS on Thursday, May 17 bringing the crew to its full
complement of six space explorers. The Soyuz TMA-04M docked to the
Russian Poisk Module. Cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, Sergei Revin, and
astronaut Joe Acaba joined Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko
(Russian), Andre Kuipers (From the Eurpean Space Agency) and flight
engineer Donald Petite (NASA).
Astronauts Petite and Kuipers will be operating the CanadArm robotic arm
should the Dragon spacecraft reach the ISS. The arm will grapple the
spacecraft, and maneuver it to dock at the ISS. The docking will be at
the US Harmony module.
By Mark Daymont
Space Center Educator
Spacerubble.blogspot.com
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