Dragon SpX-11 (CRS-11), ROSA, MUSES, NICER - Falcon 9 - Kennedy LC-39A - 03.06.2017 21:07 UTC

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SFT!
 

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 1 мин. назад

STATIC FIRE! SpaceX Falcon 9 (CRS-11) has fired up at 39A. Wait for SpaceX tweet (after test data review). Shots: http://original.livestream.com/spaceflightnow 

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19:01
The Falcon 9 rocket has ignited its nine main engines in a hold-down firing at pad 39A ahead of liftoff Thursday on a statoin reuspply run. We'll stand by for confirmation from SpaceX on the success of the test.

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(1:00)

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SpaceX‏Подлинная учетная запись @SpaceX 52 сек. назад

Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete—targeting June 1 launch from historic Pad 39A for Dragon's next resupply mission to the @Space_Station

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19:49
A KSC fire crew has been dispatched to respond to a fire north of the Falcon 9 rocket at pad 39A. Smoke visible from the KSC press site is coming from a location some distance away from the launch vehicle, which remains safely upright at the pad.

Довесок

Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 2 мин. назад

A KSC fire crew has been dispatched to a small fire near pad 39A. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket in no apparent danger. https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/05/28/live-launch-preps-spacex-falcon-9-crs-11/ ...

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William Harwood‏ @cbs_spacenews 2 мин. назад

F9/CRS11: Fire crew sent to apparent grass fire in/near pad 39A in wake of hot-fire test; SpaceX reports good test, targeting 6/1 launch

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 1 мин. назад
There's the confirmation of a good static fire test following Quick Look Review. LRR next! ARTICLE: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/05/spacex-static-fire-crs-11-falcon-9/ ... - by @CwG_NSF

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/05/spacex-static-fire-crs-11-falcon-9/

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SpaceX - CRS-11 - Static Fire Test - 12 Noon 05-28-2017
 
 
 USLaunchReport

(2:25)

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21:01
SpaceX ran through countdown and fueling procedures with a Falcon 9 rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, culminating in ignition of the booster's nine first stage Merlin engines in a customary check of the launcher's readiness before liftoff Thursday with a Dragon supply ship for the International Space Station.

The two-stage rocket was lifted vertical at pad 39A before dawn Sunday, and SpaceX's launch team loaded the Falcon 9 with super-chilled kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants before the launcher's nine Merlin 1D engines ignited for more than three seconds at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT).

Read our full story.

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USFWS Fire SE‏ @USFWSFireSE 34 мин назад

#USFWS firefighters are responding to a new wildfire at Merritt Island NWR caused by a static rocket test fire #FLfire

21:15
Firefighters from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have responded to a "wildfire" caused by today's hotfire test.

[Max Andriyahov]

А лисички взяли спички, море синее зажгли...

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00:23  Brush fire contained

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports a small two-acre brush fire on an island near pad 39A sparked by today's Falcon 9 static fire test has been contained after "numerous" water drops from a helicopter.

02:35
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now says the small brush fire after today's static fire covered approximately four acres. Crews will monitor the area for flare-ups tonight.

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Увезли на сборку с Драконом

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http://spaceflight101.com/dragon-spx11/falcon-9-completes-static-fire-ahead-of-dragon-spx11/

Falcon 9 checks off Static Fire Test ahead of First Dragon Re-Use Mission to ISS
May 29, 2017


Photo: SpaceX

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket – still missing its Dragon spacecraft – rumbled to life for a brief moment on Sunday atop its Kennedy Space Center launch pad for a hold-down engine test to clear the way for liftoff as early as Thursday on the company's second ISS resupply mission of 2017.

Спойлер

Falcon 9 is targeting liftoff at 21:55 UTC on Thursday for a ten-minute ride into orbit with the Dragon SpX-11 spacecraft headed to the International Space Station with nearly 2.8 metric tons of cargo for the orbiting laboratory, including three large external payloads and a group of 40 mice that will participate in a drug study looking at bone mass restoration in space – a potential breakthrough for future space flights and osteoporosis treatment on Earth.


Dragon 6 arrives at ISS for the first time – Photo: NASA/ESA

The Dragon SpX-11 mission will see the first re-flight of a Dragon capsule as SpaceX looks to close down the Dragon 1 production line to fully focus on the Dragon 2 spacecraft that will carry crews to the Space Station as early as next year and take over cargo missions from the original Dragons when NASA's Commercial Resupply Services 2 flights begin after SpX-20.

...

Per SpaceX's contract with NASA, the company was to use a new Dragon for all of the resupply missions, however, SpaceX from the beginning had Dragon designed for multiple mission cycles and worked with NASA to determine what would be needed to get approval from the agency for re-use missions. Provided the SpX-11 mission goes off without a hitch, SpaceX plans to re-use Dragons through SpX-20 and shut down production of new Dragon 1 spacecraft.


Dragon 6 ready to depart the factory – Photo: Instagram / the_brae_area

...



SpaceX's previous Liftoff from LC-39A – Photo: SpaceX

The Static Fire Test was initially planned for Saturday, but was then advanced to Friday when technical trouble with a ground system part caused the delay to Sunday with Falcon 9 reaching its launch pad in the pre-dawn hours. As with every Falcon 9 mission, the launcher undergoes a series of critical tests before reaching the launch pad for liftoff, specifically an acceptance test of each Merlin engine used on the rocket, a hold-down firing of both stages at the company's Texas test site and the pre-launch Static Fire Test – all designed to uncover any issues with the rocket as early as possible in the processing flow to avoid impacts to launch.

This mission is using a new first stage, as dictated by NASA's CRS contract as re-use vehicles are not yet certified to carry out NASA and U.S. Air Force missions. Booster #1035 was spotted on the test stand in McGregor in mid-March before being shipped to Cape Canaveral in the second half of April to meet its second stage.


A helicopter drops water onto a small wildfire caused by the SpaceX Static Fire – Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Entering an abbreviated countdown operation for the Static Fire, Falcon 9 went through a series of checkouts before teams cleared the pad for the propellant loading operation, picking up 70 minutes before the planned test time with Rocket Propellant 1 loading before sub-cooled Liquid Oxygen began flowing at T-45 minutes. While being loaded with over 500 metric tons of propellant, Falcon 9 completed a fully automated set of preparations including exercises of it engine valves, the chilldown of the main engines, transition to internal power and handoff to Falcon's computers.

Falcon 9 came to life at 16:00 UTC, 12 p.m. local time on Sunday as the nine Merlin 1D engines briefly soared to a collective thrust of nearly 700 metric-ton-force. The firing was expected to last 3.5 seconds before shutdown of the engines and safing of the launch vehicle.

Per the standard procedure, teams immediately went through a quick assessment of telemetry to ensure the Static Fire achieved its planned duration and all necessary performance parameters were captured before providing the green light for de-tanking the rocket.

Fire crews were dispatched to a wildfire near LC-39A caused by the Falcon 9 with helicopters completing multiple water drops to contain the 1.5-hectare blaze located on a small island near the launch site.


NASA Mission Patch – Credit: NASA

Lowered to a horizontal position, Falcon 9 returns to the Integration Facility for the installation of the Dragon spacecraft that is already holding most of the cargo it will deliver to the Space Station. A number of late load items such as time-critical experiments and fresh food for the crew will be loaded inside 24 hours to launch via Dragon's late cargo load feature, allowing items to be placed into the vehicle through a mobile white room rolled up to the launch pad.

The two Rodent Transporters, hosting a total of 40 mice, plus a Fruit Fly Lab are part of the late cargo load as only two of several dozen experiments supported by the SpX-11 mission.

Pending an on-time liftoff Thursday afternoon, Dragon will be inbound to ISS on June 4 in a mission choreographed around the planned June 2 homecoming of the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft with ISS crew members Oleg Novitskiy and Thomas Pesquet. Return of the Dragon is currently planned for July 2 via a parachute-assisted splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX plans to return Booster #1035 to Cape Canaveral's Landing Zone 1 after dispatching the rocket's second stage and Dragon spacecraft on their way toward orbit to be re-used on a later mission, possibly as early as later this year.

The mission marks SpaceX's seventh launch of the year after five successful missions from Florida and January's return-to-flight launch from Vandenberg.

[свернуть]

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Прогноз погоды L-3
Falcon 9 Dragon L-3 Forecast
 

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22:39
Officials will monitor storm clouds during Thursday's countdown, but U.S. Air Force meteorologists predict a 70 percent chance of favorable weather for liftoff of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 5:55 p.m. EDT (2155 GMT).

Thunderstorms forecast to develop Thursday will be primarily inland over the Florida peninsula, but upper level winds from the northwest could blow anvil clouds back over the spaceport. Weather rules prohibit launching through charged anvil clouds because a rocket could trigger lightning as it climbs into space.

The official weather outlook issued Monday said cumulus clouds and anvil clouds are the two main concerns for Thursday's launch.

The forecast at launch time calls for a few clouds at 3,000 feet, scattered clouds at 15,000 feet and broken clouds at 30,000 feet, surface winds from the east at 15 to 20 mph, and a temperature of 83 degrees Fahrenheit.

If the launch is pushed back to Friday, the weather forecast worsens slightly, with a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions.

The Falcon 9 rocket is launching a Dragon supply ship carrying nearly 6,000 pounds of cargo and experiments to the International Space Station.

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Прогноз погоды L-2
Falcon 9 Dragon CRS-11 L-2 Forecast
 

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‏ @CwG_NSF 3 мин. назад

Not only will #CRS11 be the first #SpaceX mission to reuse a #Dragon, it will also be the 100th launch off LC-39A! #PrettyCool