 |
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
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – After a race against time to replace moldy mouse bars for 40 rodents flying to space, a new SpaceX Falcon 9 stands poised for liftoff at lunchtime today Dec. 5 with 3 tons of science and supplies loaded aboard a Dragon cargo ship bound for the International Space Station from the Florida Space Coast.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 is now raised vertical at launch pad 40 on Cape Canaveral following a 24 hour delay to swap out the contaminated mouse bars with new ones specially flown in from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California.
Check out our Space UpClose gallery of imagery taken of the Falcon 9 standing tall at pad 40 this morning during our media remote camera setups this morning.
 |
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
|
But its aIl for the good because nasty sunshine state weather likely would have postponed the launch anyway.
Blastoff of the new SpaceX Falcon 9 and Dragon CRS-16 commercial cargo freighter is now slated for Wednesday afternoon December 5 at 1:16 p.m. EST (1816 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
You can watch live on NASA TV at www.nasatv.gov www.nasatv.gov
SpaceX plans to recover this Block 5 first stage with a thrilling soft landing back at the Cape at Landing Zone 1 some eight minutes after liftoff.
 |
Up Close view of four
landing legs attached at bottom of first stage of 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
|
Dragon CRS-16 is loaded with nearly 3 tons of science and supplies for the newly expanded six person Expedition 57 crew currently living and working aboard the ISS including the three new crewmembers launched Dec. 3 on a Russian Soyuz rocket and spacecraft from Baikonur.
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.
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.
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
Learn more about the upcoming upcoming/recent
SpaceX Falcon 9/CRS-16 launch to ISS, NASA missions, ULA Atlas & Delta
launches, SpySats and more at Ken’s upcoming outreach events at Quality Inn Kennedy Space Center, Titusville,
FL, evenings:
Dec
5: “SpaceX Dragon CRS-16
resupply launch to ISS, SpaceX Falcon Heavy & Falcon 9 launches, upcoming SpaceX
Falcon 9 USAF GP3 3-01, 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, Kuiper Belt and more,” Kennedy Space
Center Quality Inn, Titusville, FL, evenings.
Photos for sale
No comments:
Post a Comment