posted 08-10-2017 09:20 AM               

SpaceX CRS-12 Mission Overview

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the CRS-12 Dragon spacecraft to low-Earth orbit to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station for NASA.

The 12th flight under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract with SpaceX, CRS-12 will deliver more than 6,400 pounds (2,900 kg) of research, supplies and hardware for the space station's Expedition 52/53 crews, including:

• Crystallization of LRRK2 Under Microgravity Conditions, an investigation for the Michael J. Fox Foundation that could help scientists better understand the pathology of Parkinson's and aid in the development of therapies;

• Cosmic-Ray Energetics and Mass investigation (CREAM), which will place a balloon-borne instrument aboard the International Space Station to measure the charges of cosmic rays over a period of three years;

• Rodent Research-9, to evaluate the physiological changes in mice that occur during a long-duration spaceflight mission in order to improve understanding about how vision loss and joint changes occur in astronauts after long stays in space;

• NanoRacks-SMDC-Kestrel Eye, a microsatellite for the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) and Army Forces Strategic Command carrying an optical imaging system payload to validate the concept of using microsatellites in low-Earth orbit to support critical operations.

Following separation, the Falcon 9's first stage will return to SpaceX's Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

CRS-12 is the last first flight of a Dragon v1, as SpaceX transitions to re-flying its refurbished cargo spacecraft.

posted 08-10-2017 09:26 AM               

Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete — targeting August 14 launch from Pad 39A for Dragon's next resupply mission to the space station.

posted 08-14-2017 10:48 AM               

Weather is 80% favorable for today's Falcon 9 launch of Dragon for its twelfth resupply mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center set for 12:31 p.m. EDT, 16:31 UTC.

posted 08-14-2017 11:44 AM               

Falcon 9 first stage has landed at Land Zone 1. Dragon confirmed in good orbit.

Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station. Capture by space station crew set for Wednesday.

NASA Television and the agency's website will provide live coverage of spacecraft rendezvous and capture beginning at 5:30 a.m. EDT [0930 GMT], followed by installation coverage at 8:30 a.m.

posted 08-16-2017 05:53 AM               

Astronauts capture Dragon at space station

Using the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm, Expedition 52 flight engineers Jack Fischer of NASA and Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency (ESA) captured the Dragon spacecraft on Wednesday (Aug. 16).

The grapple came at 5:52 a.m. CDT (1052 GMT).

"I really love the honor of being able to catch a cargo vehicle because of what it represents," radioed Fischer to Mission Control in Houston. "Today has special significance because SpaceX 12 is the last flight on the original cargo resupply contract and this, the 36th flight of a Dragon, stands as a testament to a burgeoning commercial industry that has become a pillar of support to NASA's — and really all of humanity's — quest to explore the universe."

posted 09-17-2017 12:29 PM               

CRS-12 Dragon returns to Earth

Expedition 53 flight engineer Paolo Nespoli and commander Randy Bresnik, using the International Space Station's robotic arm, released SpaceX's CRS-12 Dragon Sunday (Sep. 17) at 4:40 a.m. EDT (0840 GMT), following its unberthing from the nadir (or Earth-facing) port on the Harmony module.

Dragon's thrusters then fired to move the spacecraft a safe distance from the space station before SpaceX flight controllers in Hawthorne, California, commanded its deorbit burn. The capsule splashed down at about 10:14 a.m. in the Pacific Ocean, where a recovery team was standing by to retrieve the capsule and its more than 3,800 pounds of cargo and research.