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SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launches to the International Space Station at 1:16
p.m. EST Dec. 5, 2018, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying more than 5,600 pounds of
research equipment, cargo and supplies on the 16th resupply mission for NASA. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Ken Kremer --SpaceUpClose.com &
RocketSTEM –5 December 2018
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After a SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched a Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA loaded with nearly 3 tons of critical research, hardware and supplies today, Wednesday, Dec. 5, the planned landing attempt to recover the first stage booster back on the ground minutes later failed - although the good news is it was safely aborted to slightly offshore at sea with no danger to population centers or infrastructure.
The aborted land landing of the 15-story-tall booster amounts to a rare setback in rocket recycling for SpaceX which really plays second fiddle to the overarching goal of the mission - launching a Dragon resupply spaceship to the astronauts and cosmonauts living and working about the million-pound Earth orbiting science laboratory.
Note: Story being updated
Check out our Space UpClose eyewitness gallery of imagery
of the launch and landing as well as prelaunch imagery taken of the Falcon 9
standing tall at pad 40 during our media remote camera. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After a SpaceX Falcon 9 successfully launched a Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA loaded with nearly 3 tons of critical research, hardware and supplies today, Wednesday, Dec. 5, the planned landing attempt to recover the first stage booster back on the ground minutes later failed - although the good news is it was safely aborted to slightly offshore at sea with no danger to population centers or infrastructure.
The aborted land landing of the 15-story-tall booster amounts to a rare setback in rocket recycling for SpaceX which really plays second fiddle to the overarching goal of the mission - launching a Dragon resupply spaceship to the astronauts and cosmonauts living and working about the million-pound Earth orbiting science laboratory.
Note: Story being updated
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Falcon 9 1st stage booster is spinning almost
out of control during final descent until engines stabilize enough to regain
control, deploy 4 landing legs and retarget for ocean landing just off shore
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, after Dec. 5, 2018 launch on SpaceX
Dragon CRS-16 mission to the ISS for NASA. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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As it plummeted back to Earth and neared its planned Florida Space Coast landing site on land at Landing Zone-1 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station the booster was visibly spinning out of control - unlike anything seen in prior land landings back at the cape.
The booster was spinning along its long axis and tilting up and down and at moments looked like it could crash land.
Fortunately, SpaceX engineers had designed in many abort modes to ensure that an off target booster could be directed to land in the ocean and not move the impact point to on land and thereby keep well away from populated areas in case of a malfunction, said SpaceX.
"The important point here is we have a safety function on board that makes sure the vehicle does not go on land until everything is OK, and that worked perfectly,” Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX vice president of build and flight reliability, said at the post launch briefing at KSC.
“The vehicle kept well away from anything where it could pose even the slightest risk to population or property.
“Public safety was well protected here. As much as we are disappointed in this landing, or landing in the water, it shows the system overall knows how to recover from certain malfunctions.”
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Falcon 9 1st stage booster is spinning almost
out of control and veering much farther downwards than normal during final descent.
Engines finalli did stabilize enough to regain control, deploy 4 landing legs
and retarget for ocean landing just off shore from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, after Dec. 5, 2018 launch on SpaceX Dragon CRS-16 mission to the ISS
for NASA. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Ultimately it ‘soft
landed’ upright and intact perhaps no more than 1 to 2 miles offshore in the Atlantic
Ocean - several miles north of LZ-1.
Moments later it tilted and fell over winding up horizontal on the ocean surface and floating with one leg pointed straight up. That made for an incredible sight straight out of science fiction.
Even more incredible is the fact that the booster was still alive and transmitting valuable data on its health and status. Recovery ships were soon dispatched.
The culprit was with a failure of the titanium grid fins to move as directed for steering purposes to maintain stability due to a failed hydraulic pump, said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in a tweet.
“Grid fin hydraulic pump stalled, so Falcon landed just out to sea,” Musk tweeted. “Appears to be undamaged & is transmitting data. Recovery ship dispatched.”
But then it righted itself almost vertically as normal in the final moments.
Moments later it tilted and fell over winding up horizontal on the ocean surface and floating with one leg pointed straight up. That made for an incredible sight straight out of science fiction.
Even more incredible is the fact that the booster was still alive and transmitting valuable data on its health and status. Recovery ships were soon dispatched.
The culprit was with a failure of the titanium grid fins to move as directed for steering purposes to maintain stability due to a failed hydraulic pump, said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in a tweet.
“Grid fin hydraulic pump stalled, so Falcon landed just out to sea,” Musk tweeted. “Appears to be undamaged & is transmitting data. Recovery ship dispatched.”
But then it righted itself almost vertically as normal in the final moments.
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Falcon 9 1st stage booster is spinning almost
out of control during final descent until engines stabilize enough to regain
control, deploy 4 landing legs and retarget for ocean landing just off shore
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, after Dec. 5, 2018 launch on SpaceX
Dragon CRS-16 mission to the ISS for NASA. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Falcon 9 1st stage booster is spinning almost
out of control during final descent until engines stabilize enough to regain
control, deploy 4 landing legs and retarget for ocean landing just off shore
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, after Dec. 5, 2018 launch on SpaceX
Dragon CRS-16 mission to the ISS for NASA. Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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“Engines stabilized rocket spin just in time, enabling an intact landing in water! Ships en route to rescue Falcon,” Musk tweeted – along with a spectacular rockets eye descent view of the spinning Falcon until touchdown and tumbling over.
Watch video here:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1070399755526656000
The dramatic splashdown video was released by Musk soon after the launch. The live view during the launch webcast had ended by mistake Musk said. So he tweeted it out soon thereafter.
Unbeknownst to us media watching from just a few miles away, the guidance system had retargeted the booster away from land and towards a landing spot just off shore in the Atlantic Ocean after the engine firing regained control of the descent for a water ditch splashdown.
After landing upright it spun around and titled over completely then fell into the water as a brief explosion erupted. The flames doused quickly leaving the Falcon intact and floating horizontally in the ocean.
In response to the landing mishap Musk said the hydraulic pump stsem did not have a back up and will be modified.
"Pump is single string. Some landing systems are not redundant, as landing is considered ground safety critical, but not mission critical. Given this event, we will likely add a backup pump & lines,” Musk tweeted.
Thus the landing mishap can be characterized as a ‘successful failure’ because the abort scenarios work as SpaceX engineers had intended.
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SpaceX Dragon CRS-16 spacecraft launches to the International Space Station at
1:16 p.m. EST Dec. 5, 2018, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40
at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying more than 5,600 pounds
of research equipment, cargo and supplies on the 16th resupply
mission for NASA. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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The lunchtime Falcon 9
launch itself was spectacular and fully successful in starting the Dragon CRS-16
spacecraft on its three day journey to the ISS.
The mission began with
the flawless blastoff
of the new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon CRS-16 commercial cargo freighter right
on time Wednesday afternoon December 5 as all nine first stage Merlin 1D engines roared to life and ignited
with 1.8 million pounds of liftoff thrust at 1:16 p.m. EST (1816 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station in Florida.
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SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launches to the International Space Station at 1:16
p.m. EST Dec. 5, 2018, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying more than 5,600 pounds of
research equipment, cargo and supplies on the 16th resupply mission for NASA Credit:
Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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The launch of SpaceX’s 16th commercial resupply
mission for NASA was postponed a day from Tuesday Dec 4 to Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 5 to remove and replace the contaminated bars of mouse food.
The late breaking discovery of what amounts to moldy mouse meals getting ready to be flown to space aboard the commercial Dragon cargo ship bound for the ISS forced NASA and SpaceX to delay the liftoff on the Falcon 9 carrier rocket from Florida’s Space Coast by 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 5.
The instantaneous launch window meant there was no margin for error or delay in case of a last moment technical glitch or weather issue – none of which happened.
The late breaking discovery of what amounts to moldy mouse meals getting ready to be flown to space aboard the commercial Dragon cargo ship bound for the ISS forced NASA and SpaceX to delay the liftoff on the Falcon 9 carrier rocket from Florida’s Space Coast by 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 5.
The instantaneous launch window meant there was no margin for error or delay in case of a last moment technical glitch or weather issue – none of which happened.
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SpaceX Dragon CRS-16 spacecraft launches to the International Space Station at
1:16 p.m. EST Dec. 5, 2018, on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40
at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida carrying more than 5,600 pounds
of research equipment, cargo and supplies on the 16th resupply
mission for NASA. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Dragon will deliver supplies and payloads, including
materials to directly support dozens of the science and research investigations
that will occur during the space station’s Expeditions 57 and 58.
This Dragon is refurbished and recycled and previously flew
on the CRS-10 mission to the station.
The 20-foot
high, 12-foot-diameter Dragon CRS-16 vessel is jam packed with more than 5,673 pounds (about 2,573 kilograms) of science
experiments, research hardware, space parts, food water, clothing and more
supplies for the six person Expedition 57 and 58 crews.
This now twice launched Dragon will arrive at the orbiting
outpost on Dec. 8 and be captured by the crew for installation on the Harmony
module for a month long stay.
ESA Astronaut and Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst of Germany and NASA Astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor from America will operate the 57
foot long Canadian-built Canadarm2robotic arm to grapple Dragon. They will be assisted by recently launched
astronaut Anne McClain of NASA.
Highlights of the
payloads on board include:
The Robotic Refueling Mission 3, or RRM3, to test
refueling techniques in microgravity and the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation lidar,
or GEDI for global forest measurement, the Rodent Research experiment looking into
the aging process and crystallization experiments to aid in finding a cure or Parkinson’s
disease.
Here’s a NASA Summary of some Science Aboard
Dragon
“The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) will provide high-quality laser ranging observations of the Earth’s forests and topography required to advance the understanding of important carbon and water cycling processes, biodiversity, and habitat. GEDI will be mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and provide the first high-resolution observations of forest vertical structure at a global scale. These observations will quantify the aboveground carbon stored in vegetation and changes that result from vegetation disturbance and recovery, the potential for forests to sequester carbon in the future, and habitat structure and its influence on habitat quality and biodiversity.
A small satellite deployment mechanism, called SlingShot, will be ride up in Dragon and then be installed in a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft prior to its departure from the space station. SlingShot can accommodate as many as 18 CubeSats of any format. After the Cygnus cargo ship departs from station, the spacecraft navigates to an altitude of 280 to 310 miles (an orbit higher than that of the space station) to deploy the satellites.
Robotic Refueling Mission-3 (RRM3) will demonstrate the first transfer and long-term storage of liquid methane, a cryogenic fluid, in microgravity. The ability to replenish and store cryogenic fluids, which can function as a fuel or coolant, will help enable long duration journeys to destinations, such as the Moon and Mars.
Growth of Large, Perfect Protein Crystals for Neutron Crystallography (Perfect Crystals) crystallizes an antioxidant protein found inside the human body to analyze its shape. This research may shed light on how the protein helps protect the human body from ionizing radiation and oxidants created as a byproduct of metabolism. For best results, analysis requires large crystals with minimal imperfections, which are more easily produced in the microgravity environment of the space station.”
Watch my commentary about the successful launch and ‘successful failure’ of the retargeted aborted landing here at Fox 35 News Orlando, FL:
http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/spacex-falcon-9-launch-scheduled-for-wednesday-afternoon
“The Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) will provide high-quality laser ranging observations of the Earth’s forests and topography required to advance the understanding of important carbon and water cycling processes, biodiversity, and habitat. GEDI will be mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module's Exposed Facility and provide the first high-resolution observations of forest vertical structure at a global scale. These observations will quantify the aboveground carbon stored in vegetation and changes that result from vegetation disturbance and recovery, the potential for forests to sequester carbon in the future, and habitat structure and its influence on habitat quality and biodiversity.
A small satellite deployment mechanism, called SlingShot, will be ride up in Dragon and then be installed in a Northrop Grumman Cygnus spacecraft prior to its departure from the space station. SlingShot can accommodate as many as 18 CubeSats of any format. After the Cygnus cargo ship departs from station, the spacecraft navigates to an altitude of 280 to 310 miles (an orbit higher than that of the space station) to deploy the satellites.
Robotic Refueling Mission-3 (RRM3) will demonstrate the first transfer and long-term storage of liquid methane, a cryogenic fluid, in microgravity. The ability to replenish and store cryogenic fluids, which can function as a fuel or coolant, will help enable long duration journeys to destinations, such as the Moon and Mars.
Growth of Large, Perfect Protein Crystals for Neutron Crystallography (Perfect Crystals) crystallizes an antioxidant protein found inside the human body to analyze its shape. This research may shed light on how the protein helps protect the human body from ionizing radiation and oxidants created as a byproduct of metabolism. For best results, analysis requires large crystals with minimal imperfections, which are more easily produced in the microgravity environment of the space station.”
Watch my commentary about the successful launch and ‘successful failure’ of the retargeted aborted landing here at Fox 35 News Orlando, FL:
http://www.fox35orlando.com/news/local-news/spacex-falcon-9-launch-scheduled-for-wednesday-afternoon
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Dr Ken Kremer/Space
UpClose interviewed by Fox 35 News Orlando about the SpaceX Dragon mission and
the landing failure.
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The prior CRS-15 resupply flight successfully flew in June
from pad 40.
The two stage Falcon 9/Dragon rocket stands about 213-feet (65-meters) tall.
To date SpaceX has successfully landed 32 1st stage rockets by land and by sea. And they have reused 17 of those 15 story tall boosters since the first relaunch in March 2017 relaunch for SES.
CRS-16 marks the 20th flight overall for SpaceX in 2018 and the 4th ISS resupply mission for NASA in 2018.
SpaceX was awarded a $3.04 Billion contract from NASA to launch 20 Dragon cargo missions to the orbiting outpost through 2019 under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) agreement.
Watch for Ken’s
continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop
Grumman 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
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist,
journalist and photographer based in the KSC area.
………….
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
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SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
poised for liftoff on Dragon CRS-16 cargo ship mission to the ISS from Space
Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, on Dec. 5, 2018 at
1:16 pm EST. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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Up Close view of Dragon
CRS-16 cargo ship bolted atop SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket poised for liftoff on
mission to the ISS from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, FL, on Dec. 5, 2018 at 1:16 pm EST. Credit: Ken
Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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