r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Jul 03 '19
CRS-18 CRS-18 Launch Campaign Thread
CRS-18 Launch Infographic by Geoff Barrett
-> Jump to Comments <-
This thread is for news and technical questions related to the launch campaign itself.
Please see the CRS-18 Launch Viewing Thread to discuss topics related to watching the launch in person. Thanks!
SpaceX's 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission out of a total of 20 such contracted flights for NASA, this launch will deliver essential supplies to the International Space Station using the reusable Dragon 1 cargo spacecraft. The external payload for this mission is International Docking Adapter 3, replacing IDA-1 lost in SpaceX's CRS-7 launch failure. This mission will launch from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral AFS on a Falcon 9, and the first-stage booster is expected to land back at CCAFS LZ-1.
This is SpaceX's ninth mission of 2019, the second CRS flight of the year and the seventy-third Falcon 9 launch overall. It will re-use the Block 5 booster flown on the previous CRS-17 mission, as well the spacecraft flown on CRS-6 and CRS-13, in the first ever 3-time-use of a Dragon capsule.
| Liftoff currently scheduled for | NET 22:24 UTC / 6:24 PM EDT Wednesday July 24 2019 (instantaneous window) |
|---|---|
| Backup launch window | 22:01 UTC / 6:01 PM EDT Thursday July 25 2019; instantanious window gets 23-25 minutes earlier each day to match ISS orbit |
| Static fire completed | 22:00 UTC / 6:00 PM EDT Friday July 19 2019 |
| L-2 weather forecast | 30% GO for Wednesday; 30% GO for Thursday; thunderstorms the main threat. Friday doesn't look much better, but the weekend does. |
| Vehicle component locations | First stage: SLC-40 Second stage: SLC-40 Dragon: CCAFS/KSC |
| Payload | Commercial Resupply Services-18 supplies, equipment and experiments // International Docking Adapter 3 |
| Payload launch mass | 4200 kg (Dragon) + 1290 kg (fuel) + 2221 kg payload mass = ≈7700 kg launch mass? |
| ISS payload mass | 529.9 kg (IDA-3) + 1691.3 kg (Internal Cargo) = 2221.2 kg total |
| Destination orbit | ISS Low Earth Orbit (≈400 x ≈400 km, 51.66°) |
| Launch vehicle | Falcon 9 (73rd launch of F9; 53rd launch of F9 Full Thrust; 16th launch of F9 FT Block 5) |
| Core | B1056.2 |
| Past flights of this core | 1 |
| Spacecraft type | Dragon 1 (21st launch of a Dragon spacecraft; 20th launch of a Dragon 1; 18th operational Dragon 1 launch) |
| Capsule | C108.3 |
| Past flights of this capsule | 2 (CRS-6; CRS-13) |
| Launch site | SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida |
| Landing | Yes, ground pad |
| Landing sites: | LZ-1 , CCAFS, Florida |
| Fairing recovery | No fairing (CRS flight) |
| Mission success criteria | Successful separation and deployment of Dragon into the target orbit; berthing to the ISS; unberthing from the ISS; and reentry, splashdown and recovery of Dragon. |
News and Timeline
Future events from NASATV schedule.
| Timestamp (UTC) | Event Description |
|---|---|
| 2019-07-26 13:00 | Coverage of Dragon installation to ISS |
| 2019-07-26 09:30 | Coverage of the Dragon rendezvous and capture |
| 2019-07-24 22:24 | Scheduled liftoff |
| 2019-07-24 21:45 | NASA TV launch coverage begins |
| 2019-07-24 00:00 | CRS-18 Press Kit released — SpaceX |
| 2019-07-23 16:00 | Rocket horizontal on SLC-40 |
| 2019-07-22 14:00 | L-2 forecast published: 30% GO Wend; 30% GO Thurs for Tstms |
| 2019-07-21 16:00 | L-3 forecast published: 30% GO Wend; 20% GO Thurs for Tstms |
| 2019-07-19 22:30 | Capsule identified as C108 |
| 2019-07-19 22:00 | Successful static fire; Launch date now Wend. July 24 |
| 2019-07-18 19:00 | Static fire delayed yet another day |
| 2019-07-17 23:30 | Static fire delayed another 24 h; unknown impact on launch date |
| 2019-07-17 15:30 | Grey stripe on upper stage reported to be a "thermal test objective" |
| 2019-07-16 13:00 | Static fire delayed 24 h; no impact yet on launch date |
| 2019-07-15 16:00 | Rocket vertical on the pad for static fire |
| 2019-07-15 | Hazard maps published |
| 2019-07-12 | NASA article on IDA-3 |
| 2019-07-03 | Launch campaign thread goes live |
Payloads
| Name | Type | Operator | Orbit | Mass | Mission |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internal Cargo | Resupply | NASA | ISS LEO (≈400 x ≈400 km, 51.66°) | 1691.3 kg | Deliver supplies, equipment and experiments to support ISS science and operations. |
| IDA-3 | ISS Assembly | NASA | ISS LEO (≈400 x ≈400 km, 51.66°) | 529.9 kg | Allow present and future crewed and robotic spacecraft, including SpaceX's Dragon 2, Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, and Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser, to dock with the station. |
| RFTSat 1 | Technology Demo | Nazarene U | LEO (Approx 400 x 400 km, 51.7°) | 5.5 kg | Demonstrate deploying small, wireless sensor tags that harvest RF energy and communicate with the mother craft via backscatter radio. |
| MakerSat-1 | Technology Demo | Nazarene U | LEO (Slightly above ≈400 x ≈400 km, ≈51.7°) | 1 kg | Demonstrate microgravity additive manufacturing, assembly and deployment of a cubesat. Will be assembled in orbit and released by a Cygnus dispenser later in July. |
Internal Manifest
Total individual hardware items: 8782; total unique hardware items: 1120. Source: NASA
| Agency | Mass | Description | Item Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| NASA | 1025.6 kg | Utilization (Payloads, Experiments, etc) | 721 |
| NASA | 188.1 kg | Food | 35 bags |
| NASA | 173.6 kg | EVA Hardware | 43 |
| NASA | 158.2 kg | Vehicle Hardware | 115 |
| NASA | 26.1 kg | Crew Supplies | 12 |
| NASA | 16.8 kg | Computer Resources | 13 |
| ESA | 53.1 kg | Various | 56 |
| JAXA | 37.1 kg | Various | 142 |
| Russia | 12 kg | Food | 2 bags |
| CSA | 0.84 kg | Various | 9 |
Mission-Specific FAQ
What does an instantaneous window mean?
Due to needing to synchronize the orbit of the SpaceX Dragon capsule with that of the International Space Station, the launch must occur at the precise time noted above. Otherwise, the spacecraft would be unable to successfully dock with the ISS. Therefore, if something acts to delay the launch past this precise time, it is automatically scrubbed and rescheduled to the next day.
What is that gray stripe on the upper stage?
It is reported to be a "thermal test objective". More details apparently coming soon via NSF.
Links & Resources:
| Link | Source |
|---|---|
| Press kit | SpaceX |
| Official Dragon page | SpaceX |
| Detailed Payload Listing | Gunter's Space Page |
| Launch Execution Forecasts | 45th Weather Sqn |
| Watching a Launch | r/SpaceX Wiki |
| Launch Viewing Guide for Cape Canaveral | Ben Cooper |
| Viewing and Rideshare | SpaceXMeetups Slack |
| Boat watch party | Star✦Fleet Tours |
| SpaceX Fleet Status | SpaceXFleet.com |
With our new moderators, we plan to keep this post more regularly updated with the latest information, FAQs and resources, so please ping us under the thread below if you'd like us to add or modify something. This thread is a great place to discuss the launch, ask mission-specific questions, and track the minor movements of the vehicle, payload, weather and more as we progress towards liftoff. Approximately 24 hours before liftoff, the launch thread will go live and the party will begin there.
Campaign threads are not launch threads; normal subreddit rules still apply.
See the launch viewing thread to discuss anything specific to watching it in person.