Friday, June 29, 2018

Stunning SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon PreDawn Resupply Launch to ISS Mesmerizers Skywatchers with Moving Jellyfish-like Figure: Photos


Long exposure streak shot of spectacularly beautiful and successful launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket before dawn at 5:42 a.m. on June 29, 2018 from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force.  It is carrying the Dragon CRS-15cargo ship loaded with 3 tons of science for NASA  to the ISS  - captured from roof of NASA’s iconic VAB at the Kennedy Space Center.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Ken Kremer  --   SpaceUpClose.com  --   29 June 2018


KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL –  Shortly before dawn Friday a recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from the Florida Space Coast and put on an absolutely stunning sky show in the first minutes of its critical mission carrying nearly 6000 pounds of research and gear aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for NASA to the International Space Station (ISS) - including the AI artificial intelligence imbued free flying robot named CIMON provided by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the ECOSTRESS water monitoring platform from JPL, cancer and human health research experiments and a new hand for the Canadian built robotic arm.


CIMON was created and developed in record breaking time by DLR and Airbus especially to work with Germany’s astronaut Alexander Gerst as a mobile astronauts assistant in the first test of AI hardware on the space station.  Gerst recently arrived at the ISS after launching to space in early June aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule for his second long term station stay as a flight engineer for the European Space Agency (ESA).  


The reused SpaceX Falcon 9 and recycled Dragon CRS-15 commercial cargo freighter lifted off into nearly cloudy free pristine twilight skies precisely on time Friday June 29 at 5:42 a.m. EDT (0942 GMT) from seaside Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.


This was the 15th SpaceX resupply mission launched to the International Space Station under the original Commercial Resupply Services contract (CRS-1) with NASA. 



Spectacular Jellyfish like exhaust plume from the June 29, 2018 predawn launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 in the first minutes after liftoff Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:42 a.m. EDT on Dragon CRS-15 cargo delivery run for NASA to the ISS.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

As the 2 stage rocket rose to the heavens sunlight glistened on the expanding exhaust plume creating a giant moving jellyfish-like figure bathed in a mesmerizing and spectacularly wide range of pastel colors painting the heavens above NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it moved through the skies in the first minutes after liftoff, arcing over on a northeasterly trajectory as it accelerated skywards delivering the Dragon CRS-15 cargo freighter to low Earth orbit. 



The sun is illuminating the exhaust plume from the rocket rising to space in this case creating a ‘space jellyfish.’ 


"These pre-sunrise or post-sunset launches give for a spectacular show in the sky," Jessica Jensen, director of Dragon mission management for SpaceX, said at the CRS-15 briefing for reporters at the Kennedy Space Center. 

"Basically, what's happening is, it's still dark outside, but you have the sun illuminating the plume as it's in space. I like to refer to it as the ‘space jellyfish’ that's coming down after us." 



Falcon 9 flies past 98.5% illuminated Moon after launching Dragon cargo craft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:42 a.m. EDT June 29, 2018.  Dragon dazzles with CRS-15 cargo ship delivering 3 tons of science & CIMON AI astronaut assistant to International Space Station by SpaceX for NASA.  Eerie LOX cloud spreads out and envelopes pad surface. From my remote camera at pad 40. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

Many observers including myself felt this was one of the most beautiful and psychedelic looking launches ever from the Cape.
Check out the Space UpClose gallery of photos herein from myself and space journalist colleagues.
My long exposure streak shot shows the stunning scene with the growing jellyfish including the first and second stage firings.
My up close remote camera photos show the initial moments of the Falcon 9 liftoff  backdropped by a nearly full moon, illuminated 98.5% as it soars off pad 40 on its way to the massive million pound orbiting outpost.
The two stage Falcon 9/Dragon rocket stands about 213-feet (65-meters) tall.
The liquid oxygen/RP-1 fueled Falcon 9 first stage launch launched with 1.7 million pounds of liftoff thrust powered by nine Merlin 1D engine mounted in an octoweb arrangement.

The first and second stage separated  2 minutes and 48 seconds after liftoff.
The Dragon successfully unfurled its solar arrays 11 minutes after liftoff.
Both the Falcon 9 and Dragon cargo ship are recycled from earlier missions. The Falcon 9 booster recently launched NASA’s TESS exoplanet hunter – barely 2 months ago - and the Dragon flew on the CRS-9 cargo delivery mission, 2 years ago.
Falcon 9 flies past 98.5% illuminated Moon after launching Dragon cargo craft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:42 a.m. EDT June 29, 2018.  Dragon dazzles with CRS-15 cargo ship delivering 3 tons of science & CIMON AI astronaut assistant to International Space Station by SpaceX for NASA.  Eerie LOX cloud spreads out and envelopes pad surface. From my remote camera at pad 40. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

Dragon CRS-15 is loaded with nearly 3 tons of science and supplies for the six person Expedition 56 crew aboard the ISS.
The 20-foot high, 12-foot-diameter Dragon CRS-15 vessel is jam packed with more than 5,900 pounds (about 2,700 kilograms) of science experiments, research hardware, space parts, food water, clothing and more supplies for the six person Expedition 56 crew.
One of the key technology demonstration experiments involves artificial intelligence and is known as CIMON, which stands for Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN. 
CIMON is the size of a medicine ball sized and functions as a free flying mobile and autonomous assistance system designed to aid astronauts with their everyday tasks on the ISS by using Watson AI technology from the IBM cloud.


Up Close views of CIMON, a free flying robot.  The mobile astronauts assistant is being tested as technology demonstration expweriment and is the first hardware imbued with AI Artificial Intelligence on the International Space Station. Launching on SpaceX Dragon CRS-15  cargo run.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com

ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from Germany will work with CIMON to test its capabilities on the ISS.
CIMON is significant in being the first form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the space station.  It was developed by prime contractor Airbus (Friedrichshafen/Bremen, Germany) in cooperation with DLR, the German Aerospace Center.

“AI-based technology is about constantly understanding, reasoning and learning, so CIMON is designed to assist and to create a feeling of talking to a crew mate”, says DLR.
CIMON has the ability to learn and offer solutions to problems. It it equipped with a face and voice uses artificial intelligence to becomes a genuine ‘colleague’ on board, says DLR. 


Up Close views of CIMON, a free flying robot.  The mobile astronauts assistant is being tested as technology demonstration expweriment and is the first hardware imbued with AI Artificial Intelligence on the International Space Station. Launching on SpaceX Dragon CRS-15  cargo run.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com



The CRS-15 manifest includes:
§  2,718 pounds (1,233 kilograms) of scientific investigations
§  452 pounds (205 kilograms) of crew supplies
§  392 pounds (178 kilograms) of vehicle hardware
§  139 pounds (63 kilograms) of spacewalk equipment
§  46 pounds (21 kilograms) of computer resources
§  27 pounds (12 kilograms) of Russian hardware

Dragon will reach the ISS on July 2 after a three day orbital chase and a series of carefully choreographed thruster firings.
“NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel will use the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to capture Dragon when it arrives at the station. Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 5:30 a.m. Monday, July 2. Installation coverage is set to begin at 9 a.m.”
Research materials flying inside Dragon's pressurized cargo area include a cellular biology investigation (Micro-12) to understand how microgravity affects the growth, gene expression and ability of a model bacterium to transfer electrons through its cell membrane along the bacterial nanowires it produces. Such bacteria could be used in microbial fuel cells to make electricity from waste organic material.
An Earth science instrument called the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) will provide a new space-based measurement of how plants respond to changes in water availability. This data can help society better manage agricultural water use.
An observational pilot study with the Crew Interactive MObile companioN (CIMON) aims to provide first insights into the effects of crew support from an artificial intelligence (AI) in terms of efficiency and acceptance during long-term missions in space.
Among the hundreds of pounds of hardware flying to the space station is a spare Canadian-built Latching End Effector (LEE). Each end of the Canadarm2 robotic arm has an identical LEE, and they are used as the “hands” that grapple payloads and visiting cargo spaceships. They also enable Canadarm2 to “walk” to different locations on the orbiting outpost.
This is SpaceX’s 15th cargo flight to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon is scheduled to depart the station in August and return to Earth with more than 3,800 pounds of research, hardware and crew supplies.
For more than 17 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth that will enable long-duration human and robotic exploration into deep space. A global endeavor, 230 people from 18 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 2,400 research investigations from researchers in 103 countries.

SpaceX did not attempt to recover this older Block 4 version of the Falcon 9 booster which is being discontinued in favor of the Block 5. The firm is rapidly switching over to the new Block 5 version first launched in May.  
This launch also counted as the final Block 4 version launch of the Falcon 9.  All future ones will be Block 5 starting in mid July.
The Block 5 Falcon 9 will be cheaper to produce and much easier to turnaround with minimal maintenance, says SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. His goal is to relaunch a recovered Block 5 a second time within 24 hours by sometime next year.
If all goes well Dragon will arrive at the orbiting outpost on July 2 for a month long stay.
The prior CRS-14 resupply flight successfully flew in April from pad 40.
CRS-15 marks the 12th flight overall for SpaceX in 2018 and the 2nd ISS resupply mission for NASA in 2018.
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com






Under gloomy skies this up close view shows the reused SpaceX Dragon CRS-15 spacecraft joined to the reused Falcon 9 first stage resting horizontal at Space Launch Complex-40 on June 28 prior to resupply mission to the ISS targeted for launch June 29, 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com




Thursday, June 28, 2018

Used SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon Set for Spectacular Pre-Dawn Blastoff June 29 to ISS Carrying CIMON Artificial Intelligence Astronaut Assistant: Watch Live


Under gloomy skies this up close view shows the reused SpaceX Dragon CRS-15 spacecraft joined to the reused Falcon 9 first stage resting horizontal at Space Launch Complex-40 on June 28 prior to resupply mission to the ISS targeted for launch June 29, 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com


Ken Kremer  --   SpaceUpClose.com  --   28 June 2018


KENNEDY SPACE CENTER & CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL –  Under gloomy space coast skies SpaceX engineers were reading a used Falcon 9 rocket and used Dragon cargo freighter for blastoff to the International Space Station (ISS) on a cargo mission for NASA carrying 3 tons of science including the CIMON Artificial Intelligence astronaut assistant.




If all goes well and clouds stay away, spectators should witness a spectacular launch about 45 minutes before sunrise as the rocket rises into sunlight in the first few minutes after liftoff.


Although the weather forecast is excellent with a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions at launch time, heavy rain and some thunder drenched the Space Coast area Thursday afternoon – as is normal for Florida at this time of year.   


Under gloomy skies this up close view shows the reused SpaceX Dragon CRS-15 spacecraft joined to the reused Falcon 9 first stage resting horizontal at Space Launch Complex-40 on June 28 prior to resupply mission to the ISS targeted for launch June 29, 2018 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com



Blastoff of the recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 and recycled Dragon CRS-15 commercial cargo freighter is now slated for dawn Friday, June 29 at 5:42 a.m. EDT (0942 GMT) from seaside Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

If you can’t watch in person, you can watch the launch live on NASA TV starting about 5:15 a.m. EFT with live streaming and blog updates as the countdown milestones occur.




In case of a delay for any reason, there will be a 48 hour postponement and the backup launch date is Sun, July 1.

There is just no satisfactory trajectory that Dragon can use to catch up to the station on June 30 with the fuel reserves on board. 

The two stage Falcon 9/Dragon rocket stands about 213-feet (65-meters) tall.

Dragon CRS-15 is loaded with nearly 3 tons of science and supplies for the six person Expedition 56 crew aboard the ISS.

The 20-foot high, 12-foot-diameter Dragon CRS-15 vessel is jam packed with more than 5,900 pounds (about 2,700 kilograms) of science experiments, research hardware, space parts, food water, clothing and more supplies for the six person Expedition 56 crew.




One of the key technology demonstration experiments involves artificial intelligence and is known as CIMON, which stands for Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN.  


Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com




CIMON is the size of a medicine ball sized and functions as a free flying mobile and autonomous assistance system designed to aid astronauts with their everyday tasks on the ISS by using Watson AI technology from the IBM cloud.


ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from Germany will work with CIMON to test its capabilities on the ISS.

CIMON is significant in being the first form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the space station.  It was developed by prime contractor Airbus (Friedrichshafen/Bremen, Germany) in cooperation with DLR, the German Aerospace Center.



“AI-based technology is about constantly understanding, reasoning and learning, so CIMON is designed to assist and to create a feeling of talking to a crew mate”, says DLR.

CIMON has the ability to learn and offer solutions to problems. It it equipped with a face and voice uses artificial intelligence to becomes a genuine ‘colleague’ on board, says DLR.
The CRS-15 manifest includes:
§  2,718 pounds (1,233 kilograms) of scientific investigations
§  452 pounds (205 kilograms) of crew supplies
§  392 pounds (178 kilograms) of vehicle hardware
§  139 pounds (63 kilograms) of spacewalk equipment
§  46 pounds (21 kilograms) of computer resources
§  27 pounds (12 kilograms) of Russian hardware
SpaceX will not attempt to recover this older Block 4 version of the Falcon 9 booster which is being discontinued in favor of the Block 5. The firm is rapidly switching over to the new Block 5 version first launched in May.  

The Block 5 Falcon 9 will be cheaper to produce and much easier to turnaround with minimal maintenance, says SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. His goal is to relaunch a recovered Block 5 a second time within 24 hours by sometime next year.

If all goes well Dragon will arrive at the orbiting outpost on July 2 for a month long stay.

The prior CRS-14 resupply flight successfully flew in April from pad 40.

CRS-15 marks the 12th flight overall for SpaceX in 2018 and the 2nd ISS resupply mission for NASA in 2018.

Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.


Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com



………….

Ken’s upcoming outreach events:

Learn more about the upcoming upcoming/recent SpaceX Falcon 9/CRS-15 launch to ISS,  SES-12 comsat launch, Falcon Heavy, TESS, GOES-S, Bangabandhu-1, NASA missions, ULA Atlas & Delta launches, SpySats and more at Ken’s upcoming outreach events at Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings:

Jun 29: “SpaceX Dragon CRS-15 resupply launch to ISS, SpaceX Falcon Heavy & Falcon 9 launches, SpaceX SES-12 comsat. ULA Atlas USAF SBIRS GEO 4 missile warning satellite, SpaceX GovSat-1, CRS-14 resupply launches to the ISS, NRO & USAF Spysats, SLS, Orion, Boeing and SpaceX Commercial crew capsules, OSIRIS-Rex, Juno at Jupiter, InSight Mars lander, Curiosity and Opportunity explore Mars, NH at Pluto and more,” Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings. Photos for sale

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

3 Tons of Science Flying to Space Station Aboard Recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 on NASA Resupply Mission Launching June 29

CIMON (Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN)  involves the first test of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the ISS and is free flying mobile and autonomous assistance system designed to aid astronauts with their everyday tasks on the station.  Credit: DLR/NASA
Ken Kremer  --   SpaceUpClose.com  --   27 June 2018

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL –  3 tons of science experiments covering a wide range of science disciplines  are flying to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft on a NASA contracted resupply mission launching later this week from the Florida Space Coast. 

Blastoff of the ‘used’ SpaceX Falcon 9 and ‘used’ Dragon CRS-15 commercial cargo freighter is now slated for dawn Friday, June 29 at 5:42 a.m. EDT (0942 GMT) from seaside Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Dragon CRS-15 is loaded with nearly 3 tons of science and supplies for the six person crew aboard the ISS.

The 20-foot high, 12-foot-diameter Dragon CRS-15 vessel is jam packed with more than 5,900 pounds (about 2,700 kilograms) of science experiments, research hardware, space parts, food water, clothing and more supplies for the six person Expedition 56 crew.

This is the 15th SpaceX resupply mission launched under the original commercial resupply contract (CRS) with NASA. 

The spacecraft will deliver almost 6000 pounds of supplies and science that studies the use of artificial intelligence, plant water use all over the planet, gut health in space, more efficient drug development and the formation of inorganic structures without the influence of Earth’s gravity, according to NASA.  

One of the key technology demonstration experiments involves artificial intelligence and is known as CIMON, which stands for Crew Interactive Mobile CompanioN.  

CIMON is the size of a medicine ball sized and functions as a free flying mobile and autonomous assistance system designed to aid astronauts with their everyday tasks on the ISS by using Watson AI technology from the IBM cloud.


One of CIMON´s exercises on the International Space Station ISS will involve a Rubik´s Cube. Credit: DLR
ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from Germany will work with CIMON to test its capabilities on the ISS. 

CIMON is significant in being the first form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the space station.  It was developed by prime contractor Airbus (Friedrichshafen/Bremen, Germany) in cooperation with DLR, the German Aerospace Center.

“AI-based technology is about constantly understanding, reasoning and learning, so CIMON is designed to assist and to create a feeling of talking to a crew mate”, says DLR.

CIMON has the ability to learn and offer solutions to problems. It it equipped with a face and voice uses artificial intelligence to becomes a genuine ‘colleague’ on board, says DLR. 

The chemical garden experiment will grow colorful inorganic chemical structures in microgravity.  

Chemical Gardens are structures that grow during the interaction of metal salt solutions with silicates, carbonates or other selected anions. Their growth characteristics and attractive final shapes form from a complex interplay between reaction-diffusion processes and self-organization.”
Classical chemical garden formed by the addition of cobalt, copper, iron, nickel, and zinc salts to a sodium silicate solution. Image courtesy of the Oliver Steinbock chemistry group at Florida State University.


Also as part of CRS-15 and under the CRS contract, the Dragon spacecraft “will haul approximately 300 kilograms of research and hardware facilities under the ISS U.S. National Laboratory flight allocation said the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) which manages the ISS National Lab for NASA.



Watch this short video for a description of the CASIS research flying aboard CRS-15:




Video Caption: ISS National Lab SpaceX CRS-15 Science Overview: The SpaceX CRS-15 commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station will send new research and hardware, sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory and managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), to our orbital laboratory. From cancer therapeutics to student research, learn more the science launching on this mission.   Credit: NASA/CASIS
“Among the many research investigations destined for the ISS National Lab, one experiment from the University of Florida is evaluating domesticated algae strains, which will be cultivated in space to explore beneficial genetic changes. The research team will sequence the algae’s genomes to identify growth-related genes – setting the foundation for the production of biomass feedstocks, recycling carbon dioxide, and improving plant-biology gene-editing technologies. There are also more than 35 student experiments as part of this mission, developed by partners such as the Student Spaceflights Experiment Program (in coordination with education partner DreamUp and hardware partner NanoRacks) and Go For Launch! (in coordination with hardware partner Space Tango). These student experiments span multiple scientific topics, ranging from the adaptation of bees on station to the evaluation of kidney stones in microgravity. Additionally, the Multiple User System for Earth Sensing platform (managed by Teledyne Brown), designed to enhance imaging capabilities from station, will host its first instrument on this mission.” 

“As part of this mission, there are multiple payloads funded through outside organizations that are destined for station. Through a joint CASIS and National Science Foundation partnership, researchers from University of California-Santa Barbara will evaluate forces between particles that cluster together such as sediments of quartz and clay particles, which could play an important role in technological efforts related to deep sea hydrocarbon drilling and sequestration. Additionally, startup company Angiex (funded in part by Boeing through the MassChallenge Startup Accelerator) has developed a cancer therapy that regresses tumor cells in model organisms. As part of this mission, Angiex will culture endothelial cells in microgravity, which could create an important model system for evaluating the action of any vascular-targeted drug. Use of this model may enable the development of a novel therapy with lower toxicity and the potential to be effective against most cancers.”

“This launch represents the incredible amount of diversity that resides within the ISS National Lab project portfolio,” said CASIS Interim Chief Operating Officer Warren Bates. “The breadth of experimentation on this mission showcases the capabilities of station and equally demonstrates the desire by outside funding entities and agencies to invest in research on this incredible learning platform.”

One of the last hurdles to launch was cleared this past Saturday, June 23 when the SpaceX team successfully ignited all nine Merlin 1D first stage engines for a brief firing lasting several seconds in duration of the recycled Falcon 9 vehicle at 5:30 p.m. EDT on pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, FL.


SpaceX conducts successful static fire test of reused Falcon 9 first stage at 5:30 p.m. EDT on June 23 at Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for CRS-15 resupply mission to the ISS targeted on launch June 29, 2018.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Check out my exclusive Space UpClose photos capturing the test firing, water spout and wild weather this Saturday afternoon, June 23.
SpaceX confirmed the positive test outcome by tweet soon thereafter.
“Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting June 29 launch from Pad 40 in Florida for Dragon’s fifteenth mission to the @Space_Station” SpaceX tweeted.
Both the Falcon 9 and Dragon cargo ship are recycled from earlier missions. The Falcon 9 booster recently launched NASA’s TESS exoplanet hunter – barely 2 months ago - and the Dragon flew on the CRS-9 cargo delivery mission, 2 years ago.
“Rocket and spacecraft for CRS-15 are flight-proven,” said SpaceX.
“Falcon 9’s first stage previously launched @NASA_TESS two months ago, and Dragon flew to the @Space_Station in support of our ninth resupply mission in 2016.”
SpaceX will not attempt to recover this older Block 4 version of the Falcon 9 booster which is being discontinued in favor of the Block 5. The firm is rapidly switching over to the new Block 5 version first launched in May.  
The Block 5 Falcon 9 will be cheaper to produce and much easier to turnaround with minimal maintenance, says SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. His goal is to relaunch a recovered Block 5 a second time within 24 hours by sometime next year.
If all goes well Dragon will arrive at the orbiting outpost on July 2 for a month long stay.
The prior CRS-14 resupply flight successfully flew in April from pad 40. 


Blastoff of SpaceX ‘Flight-proven’ Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon CRS-14 cargo ship from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on April 2 at 4:33 pm EDT to the ISS.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
CRS-15 marks the 12th flight overall for SpaceX in 2018 and the 2nd ISS resupply mission for NASA in 2018.
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.

Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
 
………….
Ken’s upcoming outreach events:
Learn more about the upcoming upcoming/recent SpaceX Falcon 9/CRS-15 launch to ISS,  SES-12 comsat launch, Falcon Heavy, TESS, GOES-S, Bangabandhu-1, NASA missions, ULA Atlas & Delta launches, SpySats and more at Ken’s upcoming outreach events at Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings:
Jun 28/29: “SpaceX Dragon CRS-15 resupply launch to ISS, SpaceX Falcon Heavy & Falcon 9 launches, SpaceX SES-12 comsat. ULA Atlas USAF SBIRS GEO 4 missile warning satellite, SpaceX GovSat-1, CRS-14 resupply launches to the ISS, NRO & USAF Spysats, SLS, Orion, Boeing and SpaceX Commercial crew capsules, OSIRIS-Rex, Juno at Jupiter, InSight Mars lander, Curiosity and Opportunity explore Mars, NH at Pluto and more,” Kennedy Space Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings. Photos for sale