SpaceX's Dragon Spacecraft and Falcon 9 Rocket

[Christopher K.]

Well, I just watched the briefing and learned a few things. There will be an onboard dummy named Buster, which will experience 4-4.5g's. The burn will last six seconds. The engines are actually 3-D printed!

One interesting point of this abort system: it will be usable during the entirety of the capsule's atmospheric launch; it will not have to be jettisoned anytime during that travel.

[Christopher K.]

Saturday at 1pm CDT SpaceX will have a mission managers meeting concerning the CRS9 launch. A "What's On Board" science briefing will take place Sunday at 2pm CDT. Both events will be shown on NASA-TV.

Coverage of the CRS9 launch itself on NASA-TV begins at 10:30pm CDT Sunday; the actual liftoff is scheduled for 11:44pm CDT.

[Christopher K.]

Flight controllers on Earth will use the Canadarm2 to release the CRS-14 cargo craft from the International Space Station on Wednesday 2 May. Release is scheduled from 9:22am CDT. The Highland Road Park Observatory will host a CRS-14 Release Party on that day from 8:30am to 10am; weather permitting, solar viewing will occur simultaneously. There will be drinks and refreshments, and all arriving kids who are registered or will register for the 5 May Science Academy or any of this summer's Stargazers Camp sessions will receive an extra door prize ticket for that session. From 8:30am to 10am, there will also be a ten percent discount on all HRPO merchandise.

More information:
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/us-c ... ce-station

[Christopher K.]

There will be no CRS-14 release this morning. The release has been rescheduled for 8:24am CDT. As this will take place between the InSight launch and Science Academy, HRPO will be open for patrons. All details of the originally-planned Release Party will apply to this time span. The new party time is 8am to 9am CDT on Saturday.

More information:
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-scien ... acecraft-1

[Christopher K.]

There is currently a teleconference occurring to give highlights of SpaceX's 26th resupply mission. This mission will carry scientific studies regarding plant mutations and mudflow structure. It will also send a camera technology demonstration as well as small satellites from Japan, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

More information:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stat ... highlights

[Christopher K.]

Crew-6 is chomping at the bit! A press conference will occur in less than an hour. Early Monday morning, just forty-five minutes after midnight (Central), is the launch.

More information:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/crew-6/