KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — Mother Nature said no to SpaceX’s attempts at a rare dual launch on Tuesday: an afternoon resupply mission and an evening satellite launch.
What do you want to know
- SpaceX will try again on Saturday to send the CRS-26 mission to the ISS; full of experiences
- Instant launch window opens at 2:20 p.m. EST Saturday
- This is the last new used Dragon freighter
- SpaceX has announced that it will build a new Crew Dragon spacecraft
- RELATED Coverage: SpaceX Attempts Falcon 9 Launch Again As It Considers Weather Issues
- 🔻Scroll down to watch the launch🔻
SpaceX hoped to send its last new Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday afternoon for the 26th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-26) mission. In fact, it will eventually be Dragon’s first flight, named C211.
Rainy and poor weather conditions forced a postponement of the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center which had an instant launch window of 3:54 p.m. EST
The 45th Weather Squadron had given only a 10% chance of good launch weather, citing the threat of thunderstorms and increasing clouds.
The next launch opportunity is at 2:20 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 26, pending approval from Eastern Range, SpaceX said.
Due to unfavorable weather conditions, we are canceling today’s launch of the CRS-26. The next launch opportunity is Saturday, November 26 at 2:20 p.m. ET
—SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 22, 2022
The resupply mission was originally scheduled to launch on Monday, Nov. 21, but a leak was discovered in one of the Dragon’s thermal control system loops, explained Sarah Walker, SpaceX director, Dragon Mission Management, during a Friday press briefing. November 18.
The culprit was a flange with a damaged rubber seal, which has since been repaired and new fluid put into the system, Walker said. The system, she added, cools the interior of the craft.
Once the first stage separation is complete, the first stage of the rocket will land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions which is in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Dragon was scheduled to autonomously dock with the ISS around 6:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday, November 23.
On Tuesday, November 22 at 9:57 p.m. EST, SpaceX hopes to launch the Eutelsat 10B mission, but the weather is also a concern at that time.
SpaceX’s Dragon C211 is the latest new cargo spacecraft, but the space company has announced that it will be manufacturing a Crew Dragon in the near future. (NASA)
Dragons, Dragons, Dragons
NASA contracts these CRS missions under the Commercial Resupply Services program.
As mentioned earlier, the Dragon used in the CRS-26 is the latest new cargo spacecraft the company plans to build. This means SpaceX has a total of seven Dragon vehicles in the fleet.
Currently. But Walker revealed something new during the briefing.
“With NASA recently securing eight more commercial crew missions, this takes us through Crew 14, as well as our exciting commercial human spaceflight manifesto – we recently decided to build another spacecraft as well. crew – which will complete our fleet of three freighters and five Dragon vehicles to carry us into the future,” Walker announced.
“A pre-flight view of the ‘Red Robin’ dwarf tomato growing in Veggie gear at Kennedy Space Center,” NASA said. (NASA)
About the assignment
For the CRS-26 mission, the Dragon will carry many science and technology experiments, NASA said.
Some of the experiences include:
Tomatoes: To help with long exploration missions, astronauts would like to grow their own crops in space, such as tomatoes.
Although some green vegetables have already been grown on the ISS via the onboard vegetable production system, the next step is to grow dwarf tomatoes.
“We are testing tomatoes, looking at the impacts of the light spectrum on crop growth, the delicious and nutritious quality of tomatoes, and microbial activity on fruits and plants,” explained Gioia Massa, Life Sciences project scientist. from NASA and VEG. -05 lead investigator, in a statement.
Test kits: Small test kits (Moon Microscope) are an in-flight medical diagnostic that an astronaut can carry. The idea is that if an astronaut gets sick on the Moon or Mars, they can take a blood sample and images with a handheld digital microscope (called a Mini-Me) and send it back to flight surgeons who can provide treatment. .
Falcon goggles: Going from earth’s gravity to weightlessness to even another environment with a different gravity like the moon or Mars wreaks havoc with an astronaut’s spatial orientation and hand-eye coordination, among other things.
To help prevent this and motion sickness, the Falcon glasses will be tested and capture high-speed video of an astronaut’s eyes that will provide detailed information about ocular alignment and balance.
“These goggles could better inform our researchers of the impacts of microgravity on crew members and their ability to adapt and work in new gravities,” explained Dr. Cherie Oubre, assistant flight scientist in the program. NASA Human Research, in a NASA statement about the experiment. . “Devices like this will be invaluable as we work to prepare astronauts for long-duration exploration missions to the Moon and beyond to Mars, and can also enhance similar technologies here on Earth.”
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