Thursday, July 25, 2019

Used SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches to Space Station with New NASA Docking Port and Research Gear: Photos


A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for SpaceX’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station on July 25, 2019, at 6:01 p.m with the CRS-18 Dragon cargo ship and 2.5 tons of science and supplies. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM – 25 July 2019

 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL  –  After days of rain showers and threats of thunderstorms the skies over the Florida Space Coast cleared in the final moments of the countdown to liftoff in a near miraculous turn in the weather outlook and a used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off bound for the International Space Station (ISS) on a stunningly beautiful launch with a new NASA docking port, a human tissue biofabrication experiment and two and a half tons of research gear and supplies Thursday evening, July 25. 

 Eight minutes later the now twice used booster safely touched down back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to a crescendo of shockingly loud sonic booms heard all across the central Florida region.

 The recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida on July 25, 2019, at 6:01 p.m. EDT, carrying the company’s private Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station on its 18th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-18) mission.

 “It was a great launch, we were really happy to see the weather clear out the way it did,” said Bill Spetch, deputy manager of the International Space Station Transportation Integration Office at NASA.

 Check out our gallery of Space UpClose eyewitness photos captured at the launch pad on Cape Canaveral Air Force and the Kennedy Space Center – from the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and around the Launch Complex 39 Press Site.

 Click back as the gallery grows.
The now twice used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soft lands for 2nd time eight minutes after stunning lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for SpaceX’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station on July 25, 2019, at 6:01 p.m with the CRS-18 Dragon cargo ship and 2.5 tons of science and supplies. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Liftoff was delayed a day by awful Space Coast weather when poor weather from anvil clouds, thunderstorms and lightning put an end to hopes to launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 on a cargo delivery run for NASA to the International Space Station (ISS) as the countdown clock clicked relentlessly down to T-Zero. A scrub was finally called as expected in the final moments before the hoped for liftoff Wednesday evening July 24.

 At last the now twice used Falcon 9 first stage performed flawlessly and put on a magnificent 24 hour belated launch and landing show for the many tens of thousands and thousands of spectators ringing the Space Coast region at dinnertime this evening - culminating with multiple sonic booms.

 As the 15 story tall first stage refired a subset of its its Merlin 1D engines the descending booster decelerated from over 1000 MPH and passed through the sound barrier sending our sonic booms in all directions that rattled houses, wall and fixtures in nearby Titusville and Cape Canaveral and more.
Blastoff of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Dragon CRS-18 cargo mission for NASA to the International Space Station on July 25, 2019, at 6:01 p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with 2.5 tons of science and supplies - in this remote camera view from pad 40. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com


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



Landing legs deploy as now twice used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soft lands for 2nd time eight minutes after stunning lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for SpaceX’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station on July 25, 2019, at 6:01 p.m with the CRS-18 Dragon cargo ship and 2.5 tons of science and supplies. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
The goal of the CRS-18 mission is cargo delivery for NASA carrying over 5000 pounds (2300 KG)  of science and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) from the Florida Space Coast. 

 Among the cargo is a very important docking adapter known as International Docking Adapter-3 (IDA-3), which is required to be on station in order for the new commercial crew spaceships from SpaceX and Boeing to dock to it at the orbiting outpost. 
View of International Docking Adapter 2 (IDA-2) being processed inside the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA Kennedy Space Center for launch to the ISS in the trunk of a SpaceX Dragon on the CRS-9 mission in 2016. It was connected to the station to provide a port for Commercial Crew spacecraft carrying astronauts to dock to the orbiting laboratory and was first used on the Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission in March 2019. The identical IDA-1 was destroyed during SpaceX CRS-7 launch failure on June 28, 2015. IDA-3 launched on CRS-18.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Also aboard is the Techshot 3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF) - the first ever 3D printer capable of manufacturing human tissue in orbit.  

 1st experiments will focus on printing human cardiac cells. This 500 lb unit was on display at the KSC press site – see our photo below. 

 The CRS-18 mission features a once flown Falcon 9 Block 5 version rocket that launched in May 2019 on the CRS-17 resupply mission -also from pad 40. 

 The Dragon is also recycled and marks the first time that SpaceX will use a Dragon for the third time. 

 This Dragon CRS-18 Dragon cargo ship previously launched in April 2015 on CRS-6 and December 2017 on CRS-13.

 The two stage Falcon 9/Dragon rocket stands about 213-feet (65-meters) tall.
After blastoff LOX steams along out outer skin of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Dragon CRS-18 cargo mission for NASA to the International Space Station on July 25, 2019, at 6:01 p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida with 2.5 tons of science and supplies - in this remote camera view from pad 40. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Here are details from NASA about some of the scientific investigations Dragon is delivering to the space station:

Bio-Mining in Microgravity

The Biorock investigation will provide insight into the physical interactions of liquid, rocks and microorganisms under microgravity conditions and improve the efficiency and understanding of mining materials in space. Bio-mining eventually could help explorers on the Moon or Mars acquire needed materials, lessening the need to use precious resources from Earth and reducing the amount of supplies that explorers must take with them.

Printing Biological Tissues in Space

Using 3D biological printers to produce usable human organs has long been a dream of scientists and doctors around the globe. However, printing the tiny, complex structures found inside human organs, such as capillary structures, has proven difficult to accomplish in Earth’s gravity. To overcome this challenge, Techshot designed their BioFabrication Facility to print organ-like tissues in microgravity – a stepping stone in a long-term plan to manufacture whole human organs in space using refined biological 3D printing techniques.
Techshot 3D BioFabrication Facility (BFF) is the first ever 3D printer capable of manufacturing human tissue in orbit.  This 500 lb unit was on display at the KSC press site.  Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Improving Tire Manufacturing from Orbit

The Goodyear Tire investigation will use microgravity to push the limits of silica fillers for tire applications. A better understanding of silica morphology and the relationship between silica structure and its properties could improve the silica design process, silica rubber formulation and tire manufacturing and performance. Such improvements could include increased fuel efficiency, which would reduce transportation costs and help to protect Earth’s environment.

Effects of Microgravity on Microglia 3D Models

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) – adult cells genetically programmed to return to an embryonic stem cell-like state – have the ability to develop into any cell type in the human body, potentially providing an unlimited source of human cells for therapeutic purposes. Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells examines how specialized white blood cells derived from iPSCs of patients with Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis grow and move in 3D cultures, and any changes in gene expression that occur as a result of exposure to a microgravity environment. Results could lead to the development of potential therapies.

Mechanisms of Moss in Microgravity

Space Moss compares mosses grown aboard the space station with those grown on Earth to determine how microgravity affects its growth, development, and other characteristics. Tiny plants without roots, mosses need only a small area for growth, an advantage for their potential use in space and future bases on the Moon or Mars. This investigation also could yield information that aids in engineering other plants to grow better on the Moon and Mars, as well as on Earth.
These are just a few of the hundreds of investigations providing opportunities for U.S. government agencies, private industry, and academic and research institutions to conduct microgravity research that leads to new technologies, medical treatments, and products that improve life on Earth. Conducting science aboard the orbiting laboratory will help us learn how to keep astronauts healthy during long-duration space travel and demonstrate technologies for future human and robotic exploration beyond low-Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars.
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UpClose prelaunch view of SpaceX Dragon CRS-18 cargo freighter atop Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
After 2 days of carefully choreographed thruster firings and orbit raising maneuvers  Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting outpost Saturday morning, July 27. 

 Live coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival will begin at 8:30 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

 Dragon will join three other spacecraft currently at the space station. 

 Expedition 60 Flight Engineers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA will use the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, to grab, or grapple, Dragon around 10 a.m. Coverage of robotic installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 12 p.m.

 Dragon will remain berthed for about a month before returning for a parachute assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. 
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands poised for lift off at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida for the company’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-18) mission to the International Space Station - in this up close view from pad 40. After poor weather scrub July 24, 2019, launch rescheduled for 6:01 p.m. EDT, July 25. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com


Watch my commentary about the SpaceX launch of  NASA cargo including the IDA-3 docking adapter at Fox 35 TV News at the 2nd video of this link:

Dr. Ken Kremer/Space UpClose July 24, 2019 interview with Fox 35 Orlando TV News about the SpaceX CRS-18 mission to the ISS
Ken will be onsite at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for live reporting of the SpaceX CRS-18 mission launch.

 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 and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
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Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events

 Ken’s upcoming outreach events:

 Jul 26: Quality Inn Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL, evenings.  Learn more about the upcoming/recent NASA Orion Ascent-2 Abort test  Falcon Heavy, NASA 2024 Moon landing goal, SpaceX Starlink-1, SpaceX Falcon 9/CRS-17 launch to ISS, SpaceX Demo-1 launch/test failure, SpaceX Beresheet launch, NASA missions, ULA Atlas & Delta launches, Northrop Grumman Antares, SpySats and more 

 Ken will display his photos for sale
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