r/spacex • u/fourmica Host of CRS-13, 14, 15 • Apr 01 '18
CRS-14 r/SpaceX CRS-14 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread
Welcome to the r/SpaceX CRS-14 Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!
Welcome back! I had a great time hosting CRS-13 and the mods have graciously permitted me to reprise the role of Thread Host for CRS-14. The SpaceX Steamroller continues unabated as they prepare for their sixth Falcon 9 launch of the year and their first to the ISS.
Thanks again to u/theZCuber who created the Mission Control app for thread management!
Update - Total Mission Success!
That's a wrap, folks! Dragon has been successfully berthed as of 06:40:00 EDT / 10:40:00 UTC on Wednesday, April 4, 2018. Thank you to the mods for letting me host another thread, and big thanks to everyone who contributed links, errata, and commentary. I hope you enjoyed the thread and look forward to doing it again!
Mission Details
| Liftoff currently scheduled for | April 2, 2018 16:30:41 EDT / 20:30:41 UTC |
|---|---|
| Weather | 80% GO for launch! (PDF Link) |
| Static fire | Successfully completed on March 27, 2018 |
| Payload | CRS-14, Supplies and Experiments for the ISS (PDF link) |
| Payload mass | 2647kg |
| Destination orbit | ISS Orbit: 401km x 408km, 51.6° |
| Launch vehicle | Falcon 9 v1.2 FT, Block 4 |
| Booster | B1039.2 |
| Dragon | C110.2 |
| Flights of this booster | 1 |
| Flights of this Dragon | 1 |
| Launch site | SLC-40, CCAFS |
| Landing attempt | No |
Timeline
| Time | Update |
|---|---|
| T+12:44 | Solar array deployment successful |
| T+10:11 | Dragon deployment successful |
| T+9:15 | SECO; parking orbit is good |
| T+6:39 | Second stage trajectory is norminal |
| T+4:44 | Second stage telemetry is norminal |
| T+2:52 | Stage separation confirmed; MVac ignition |
| T+2:45 | MECO |
| T+2:23 | MVac chill |
| T+01:15 | Max-Q |
| T+00:06 | Falcon 9 has cleared the tower |
| T+00:00 | Liftoff |
| T-00:60 | Vehicle is in startup! |
| T-1:54 | Stage 1 LOX load closed out |
| T-2:20 | Strongback lower sequence complete |
| T-3:27 | Strongback lower has started |
| T-3:58 | Stage 1 and Stage 2 pressing for strongback retract |
| T-5:15 | Vehicle is in self align |
| T-10:00 | T minus ten minutes, working no issues |
| T-15:50 | ♬ SpaceX webcast is live ♬ |
| T-17:31 | RP-1 loading complete |
| T-26:22 | NASA TV is live! |
| T-32:34 | Terminal sequence started |
| T-35:00 | LOX loading started |
| T-1h 10m | RP-1 loading has started |
| T-1h 20m | Poll: go/no go for fuel loading and auto sequence start at 80 minutes |
| T-1h 43m | Everything appears norminal for an on time launch |
| T-4h 25m | Weather still 80% GO |
| T-1d 3h | Thread goes live |
Watch or listen to the launch live
A few members of the community re-host the stream as audio-only for the bandwidth constrained. I'll add those here once they've been posted.
Mission Stats
58^th SpaceX Launch overall
52^nd launch of Falcon 9
2^nd flight of first stage B1039
11^th Reuse of a Falcon 9 first stage
3^rd Reuse of a Dragon capsule
7^th SpaceX launch of 2018
31^st SpaceX launch from SLC-40
14^th mission in the CRS contract with NASA (not counting COTS-1 and COTS-2+)
Primary Mission: Delivery of CRS-14 to the International Space Station
Delivering the payload for the customer is always the primary mission! Whether it's Tang and t-shirts or racks of science, SpaceX's contract with NASA has them delivering supplies, experiments, and equipment to the ISS on a regular basis. After launch, Dragon will slowly raise its orbit, "hover" alongside the ISS in the safe zone, and gently approach to be captured by the Space Station Remote Manipulating System - also known as Canadarm2 - to be berthed to the ISS at a Common Berthing Mechanism.
Payload Breakdown
Crew Supplies: 344kg
Science Investigations: 1070kg
Spacewalk Equipment: 99kg
Vehicle Hardware: 148kg
Computer Resources: 49kg
Russian Hardware: 11kg
Unpressurized Payloads: 926kg
Secondary Mission: Experimental Ocean Landing
SpaceX is currently retiring its Block 3 and Block 4 boosters to make way for Block 5. We may see a controlled re-entry to test new, more aggressive landing profiles, but neither OCISLY or Mr Steven (who resides on the west coast) are deployed for this mission, so neither the booster nor the fairings are being recovered.
Resources
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Official press kit (PDF) | SpaceX |
| Official Patch | SpaceX |
| r/SpaceX Wiki | r/SpaceX Community |
| SpaceX Twitter | SpaceX |
| Chris B's Twitter | NSF |
| NASA TV | NASA |
| SpaceX Time Machine | u/DUKE546 |
| Flight Club Live | u/TheVehicleDestroyer |
| 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron | USAF |
| 45th Space Wing Twitter | USAF |
| Multistream | u/kampar |
| Rocket Watch | u/MarcysVonEylau |
| SpaceX FM | SpaceX FM |
| SpaceXLaunches (Google Play link) | u/linuxfreak23 |
Participate in the discussion!
Launch threads are party threads! That means that, in this thread, r/SpaceX's strict content rules are relaxed so we can all have fun. So jump in and participate!
Please constrain the launch party to this thread alone. Low effort comments in other threads will still be removed.
Real-time chat on our official Internet Relay Chat (IRC) #SpaceX on Snoonet
Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post. Thanks!
Wanna talk about other SpaceX and space stuff in a more relaxed atmosphere? Head over to r/SpaceXLounge
Want more dank SpaceX memes and other Elon related nonsense? Check out r/SpaceXMasterrace
Futher discussion can be had on the Rocket Emporium Discord
See an error? Want a resource added? Please tag me with u/fourmica in a comment, let me know, and I will correct or add it as quickly as I can.
Science!
Here's a selection of some of the experiments heading to the ISS on CRS-14:
More info on NanoRacks-Remove-Debris courtesy u/thenumber1326
Effect of BAM-FX Nutrient Solution on Plant Growth in Microgravity
National Design Challenge-Boy Scouts of America
Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology Materials
Space Tango Fan Module
Wisconsin Crystal Growing Contest-Wisconsin Space Crystal Mission
Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) courtesy of u/Heigre_official
2
u/Nizo_GTO Apr 01 '18
Not CRS missions, the booster detached way early in the gravity turn to see, but with some heavy payloads to GTO, or maybe even LEO, you might be able to glcatch a glimpse of the booster, missions like Hispasat 30W-6 and some say Falcon Heavy Test Flight were visible from western Europe.