Editor’s Note: Launch time has been updated to no earlier than Friday, May 3.
NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting no earlier than Friday, May 3, for the launch of its next resupply mission to the International Space Station.
This is the 17th SpaceX mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver supplies including critical materials to support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 59 and 60. The spacecraft’s unpressurized trunk will transport NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 (OCO-3) and Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6).
OCO-3 will be installed robotically on the exterior of the space station’s Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility Unit, where it will measure and map carbon dioxide from space to increase our understanding of the relationship between carbon and climate. STP-H6 is an X-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated X-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications.
The spacecraft will reach the station two days after launch. When it arrives, astronaut David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency will grapple Dragon, with NASA astronaut Nick Hague serving as backup. NASA astronaut Christina Koch will assist by monitoring telemetry during Dragon’s approach. Station crew will monitor Dragon vehicle functions during rendezvous. After Dragon capture, mission control in Houston will send commands to the station’s arm to rotate and install the spacecraft on the bottom of the station’s Harmony module.
Thursday, May 2
Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Badging Hours of Operation: 7:30 a.m. – noon
Foreign National Pickup Times: 10 a.m.
News Media Schedule
- 11 a.m. Prelaunch news conference with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program,
SpaceX, and the U.S. Air Force’s 45th Space Wing.
- 12:30 p.m. K-9 Inspection
- 12:40 p.m. Depart for Space Launch Complex 40
- 1 p.m. Remote Camera Set-up at SLC 40
Media who would like to call in for the prelaunch news conference should phone the NASA News Center at 321-867-2468.
Friday, May 3
Press Site Hours of Operation: Midnight – 7 a.m.
Badging Hours of Operation: Midnight – 2 a.m.
Foreign National Pickup Time: 1 a.m.
News Media Schedule
- 1 a.m. Sat trucks depart for Causeway
- 1:30 a.m. Wire Van departs for Causeway
- 1:45 a.m. Media depart for Causeway
- 2:15 a.m. K-9 Inspection for VAB roof
- 2:30 a.m. Media depart for VAB roof
- 3:11 a.m. Launch
- 4:30 a.m. Postlaunch news conference with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program and SpaceX
- 7:45 a.m. Remote camera pickup
Launch Viewing
Media may view the CRS-17 launch from the Kennedy Press Site, NASA Causeway or the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) roof (space is limited). Media who wish to view the launch from the NASA Causeway or the VAB roof should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 1:30 a.m. to be escorted.
NASA TV Launch Coverage
NASA TV live coverage will begin at 2:45 a.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit https://www.nasa.gov/ntv.
Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135. Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.
NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage
Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the SpaceX CRS-17 flight will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 2:45 a.m. as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the newsroom at 321-867-2468. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at http://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex.
Postlaunch News Conference on NASA TV
A postlaunch news conference will occur at about 4:30 a.m. in Kennedy’s Press Site TV Auditorium and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website at https://www.nasa.gov/ntv. Media who would like to call in should phone the NASA News Center at 321-867-2468.
Learn more about the SpaceX CRS-17 mission by going to the mission home page at:
Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Mary Maclaughlin
Kennedy Space Center, FL
321-867-2468
mary.maclaughlin@nasa.gov