NASA is preparing to launch a SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station, with the launch scheduled for 10:44 a.m. AEST on Thursday. You can watch the action live right here.
The Dragon spacecraft was launched on the launch pad of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday and control of the mission has given the final launch, according to NASA. Dragon is connected to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and will carry a payload of 2,631 kg to the ISS. The cargo ship will orbit the Earth for a day and a half, and is currently scheduled to dock at the ISS Harmony module at 1:20 a.m. AEST on Sunday.
NASA will begin broadcasting the launch live at 10:15 a.m. AEST on Friday on NASA TV, which you can access via the live stream below.
The CRS-25 cargo mission will bring scientific experiments and crew supplies to the ISS. Some of the scientific payload heading into the orbiting laboratory includes an experiment on aging in the microgravity environment, another on how the space environment affects the ground, and a NASA mission that will take pictures of the orbit. Earth over the course of a year to measure the mineral composition of dust in the arid regions of the planet.
NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines are preparing to dock the Dragon spacecraft, while NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren is preparing the cargo that will return with Dragon at the end of his mission. a month at the ISS, according to NASA.
The mission marks SpaceX’s 25th unmanned refueling mission to the ISS, part of the company’s ongoing partnership with NASA to launch payloads into the orbiting space station. SpaceX also transports astronauts to the ISS with a commercial crew contract with NASA, which it has now done on four occasions.
The CRS-25 was originally scheduled to launch on June 10, but ground crews discovered high levels of propellant vapor and interrupted the launch. The source of the leak was later identified as a faulty inlet gasket from the Draco thrust valve, which controls propellant flow. But it looks like the problem has been solved and the Dragon spacecraft can now bring these much-needed supplies to the orbital lab.
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