SpaceX CRS-8

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SpaceX CRS-8
File:CRS-8 Dragon from ISS (ISS047E050978).jpg
The CRS-8 SpaceX Dragon captured by Canadarm on April 10, 2016
Mission type ISS resupply
Operator SpaceX / NASA
COSPAR ID 2016-024A
SATCAT № 41452
Mission duration 32 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Dragon
Manufacturer SpaceX
Start of mission
Launch date April 8, 2016, 20:43 (2016-04-08UTC20:43) UTC
Rocket Falcon 9 FT[1]
Launch site Cape Canaveral SLC-40
Contractor SpaceX
End of mission
Disposal Recovered
Landing date May 11, 2016, 18:31 (2016-05-11UTC18:32) UTC[2]
Landing site Pacific Ocean[2]
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Inclination 51.6 degrees
Epoch Planned
Berthing at ISS
Berthing port Harmony nadir
RMS capture April 10, 2016, 11:23 UTC[3]
Berthing date April 10, 2016, 13:57 UTC[3]
Unberthing date May 11, 2016
RMS release May 11, 2016, 13:19 UTC[3]
Payload
BEAM
Mass 3,136 kg (6,914 lb)
Pressurised 1,723 kg (3,799 lb)
Unpressurised 1,413 kg (3,115 lb)
File:SpaceX CRS-8 Patch.png
Commercial Resupply Services
← SpaceX CRS-7 SpaceX CRS-9 →

SpaceX CRS-8, also known as SpX-8,[4] was a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched on April 8, 2016, at 20:43 UTC. It was the 23rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket, the tenth flight of a Dragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted to SpaceX by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program.[5] The capsule carried over 3,100 kilograms (6,800 lb) of cargo to the ISS including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototype inflatable space habitat delivered in the vehicle's trunk, which will be attached to the station for two years of in-orbit viability tests.[6] After boosting the payload on its way, the rocket's first stage re-entered the denser layers of the atmosphere and landed vertically on the ocean platform Of Course I Still Love You nine minutes after liftoff,[7] achieving a long-sought-after milestone in SpaceX's reusable rocket program.

Launch schedule history

File:CRS-8 liftoff (25709481274).jpg
Falcon 9 lifting off from SLC-40 on April 8, 2016.

The launch was initially scheduled by NASA to occur no earlier than September 2, 2015. The launch date went under review pending the outcome of the analysis of the failure of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle in SpaceX CRS-7, a June 2015 flight. The return-to-flight (RTF) project included additional improvements.[8]

With additional manifest changes announced by SpaceX in mid-October, CRS-8 was scheduled to be the third launch of the upgraded Falcon 9 full thrust rocket.[9] By March 2016, the launch date was set to April 8, 2016, with a backup launch window the next day.

The spacecraft was finally launched on schedule, at 20:43 UTC on April 8, 2016. The rocket first stage separated around 2 minutes 40 seconds after liftoff, and the second stage separated around ten minutes 30 seconds after liftoff.

Primary payload

NASA has contracted for the CRS-8 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the orbital parameters for the primary payload – the Dragon space capsule.

The mission delivered 3,136 kilograms (6,914 lb) of supplies, experiments, and hardware to the ISS. These include the station's first expandable module, called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which is expected to remain on the station for at least two years of observation and testing.[5][10] Also delivered in the Dragon were sixteen Flock 2d 3U CubeSats for the Earth-observing Flock constellation, built and operated by Planet Labs, which will be deployed by the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer.[11]

First stage landing

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Main article: Falcon 9 first-stage landing tests
First stage of Falcon 9 Flight 23 landed on autonomous spaceport drone ship

After placing the CRS-8 cargo on its way to the International Space Station, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket conducted an experimental boostback and re-entry maneuver over the Atlantic Ocean. Nine minutes after liftoff, at 20:52:10 UTC, the booster landed vertically on the autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, 300 kilometers (190 mi) from the Florida coastline, achieving a long-sought-after milestone for the SpaceX reusable launch system development program.[7]

This was the second successful landing achieved by a SpaceX orbital launch vehicle and the first vertical landing by any organization on a floating platform. SpaceX first landed a Falcon 9 on solid ground at Cape Canaveral with flight 20 on December 22, 2015.[7]

Port arrival

The drone ship carried the stage to Port Canaveral, Florida, arriving on April 12, 2016 (UTC),[12] where it was offloaded. SpaceX plans to keep this first stage in Cape Canaveral and conduct a series of test fires to ensure that the vehicle is ready for a future operational mission.[13] According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the rocket will likely be test-fired at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39.[14] Musk noted that assuming the test fires went well, the stage would likely be reflown for a mission in June 2016.[14]

References

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External links

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