SpaceX CRS-10 explained

SpaceX CRS-10
Names List:SpX-10
Mission Type:ISS resupply
Operator:SpaceX
Spacecraft Type:Dragon 1
Manufacturer:SpaceX
Dry Mass:4200kg (9,300lb)
Dimensions:Height:
Diameter:
Launch Date: UTC
Launch Rocket:Falcon 9 Full Thrust (B1031)
Launch Site:Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Launch Contractor:SpaceX
Disposal Type:Recovered
Landing Date: UTC[1]
Landing Site:Pacific Ocean, 200order=flipNaNorder=flip SW of Long Beach, California
Orbit Reference:Geocentric
Orbit Regime:Low Earth
Orbit Semimajor:6783.13km (4,214.84miles)
Orbit Eccentricity:0.000715
Orbit Periapsis:400.14km (248.64miles)
Orbit Apoapsis:409.85km (254.67miles)
Orbit Inclination:51.6402°
Orbit Period:92.7 minutes
Orbit Epoch:2 March 2017, 13:20:36 UTC[2]
Apsis:gee
Docking:
Docking Type:berth
Docking Port:Harmony nadir
Capture Date:23 February 2017, 10:44 UTC[3]
Docking Date:23 February 2017, 13:12 UTC
Undocking Date:18 March 2017, 21:20 UTC[4]
Release Date:19 March 2017, 09:11 UTC[5]
Cargo Mass:24900NaN0
Cargo Mass Press:15300NaN0
Cargo Mass Unpress:9600NaN0
Insignia:SpaceX CRS-10 Patch.png
Insignia Caption:NASA SpX-10 mission patch
Programme:Commercial Resupply Services
Previous Mission:OA-5
Next Mission:OA-7
Programme2:Cargo Dragon
Previous Mission2:SpaceX CRS-9
Next Mission2:SpaceX CRS-11

SpaceX CRS-10, also known as SpX-10, was a Dragon Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which launched on 19 February 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA as part of its Commercial Resupply Services program and was launched by SpaceX aboard the 30th flight of the Falcon 9 rocket. The mission ended on 19 March 2017 when the Dragon spacecraft left the ISS and safely returned to Earth.

Operations history

CRS-10 is part of the original order of twelve missions awarded to SpaceX under the Commercial Resupply Services contract. In June 2016, a NASA Inspector General report had this mission manifested for November 2016. The launch was then put on hold pending investigation of the pad explosion in September 2016, with a tentative date no earlier than January 2017, subsequently set for 18 February.

On 12 February 2017, SpaceX successfully completed a static fire test of the Falcon 9 engines on Pad 39A. An initial launch attempt on 18 February 2017 was scrubbed 13 seconds before its 15:01:32 UTC launch due to a thrust vector control system issue in the rocket's second stage, resulting in a 24-hour hold for launch no earlier than 19 February at 14:39 UTC. The faulty actuator was repaired at the launch pad overnight, and the rocket was returned to vertical approximately six hours before the scheduled launch time.[6]

CRS-10 was launched from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 Pad A on 19 February 2017 at 14:39 UTC, the first launch from the complex since STS-135 on 8 July 2011, the last flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the first uncrewed mission from the site since the launch of the Skylab space station on 14 May 1973; this complex is also where the Apollo missions were launched.[7]

Following the successful launch, the first stage proceeded through a three-burn flyback and landed safely in Landing Zone 1, the first daytime landing of a Falcon rocket on land.

The Dragon spacecraft rendezvoused with the International Space Station on 22 February, but its approach was automatically aborted by an on-board computer at 08:25 UTC when a data error was reported in its navigation system. This is the first rendezvous abort by a Dragon spacecraft. The problem was traced to an incorrect data value in the spacecraft's Global Positioning System, critical to operations as this data informs the vehicle of its relative position to the space station.[8] [9] The abort resulted in a 24-hour hold on its approach. The error was corrected in this time, during which the spacecraft entered a "racetrack" trajectory around the station to reset its approach.[10] [11] An error-free second attempt resulted in Dragon being captured by the station's Canadarm2 on 23 February at 10:44 UTC, with berthing to the Harmony module taking place a few hours later at 13:12 UTC. This abort was later revealed in a NASA Inspector General audit to have resulted from incompatibilities between NASA's and SpaceX's software development processes.[12]

The CRS-10 mission ended on 19 March 2017. The Dragon spacecraft was detached from the International Space Station by Canadarm2 on 18 March 2017 at 21:20 UTC, moved to a stow position below the station where it stayed overnight, and was released at 09:11 UTC. Dragon performed three departure burns to move it away from the station before conducting a final de-orbit burn at around 14:00 UTC. The spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 14:46 UTC, about 200order=flipNaNorder=flip southwest from Long Beach, California.[13]

Dragon returned 1652kg (3,642lb) of material from the ISS, including research samples, science and crew equipment, and spacewalking hardware. Also removed from the station was 811kg (1,788lb) of external payload—including a MISSE module, the OPALS experiment, and Robotic Refueling Mission demonstration equipment—which was placed in Dragon's unpressurized trunk and disposed of when the trunk section burned up on re-entry.

Primary payload

NASA contracted the CRS-10 mission from SpaceX and therefore determined the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. CRS-10 carried a total of 24900NaN0 of cargo to the International Space Station, including 15300NaN0 of pressurized cargo including packaging and 9600NaN0 of unpressurized cargo. External payloads on the CRS-10 spacecraft are the SAGE III Earth observation experiment and its Nadir Viewing Platform (NVP), and the U.S. Department of Defense's Space Test Program Houston 5 (STP-H5) package including the Raven navigation investigation and the Lightning Imaging Sensor. Some science payloads include ACME, LMM Biophysics, ZBOT, and CIR/Cool Flames.

The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS:

Trial of new flight safety system

SpaceX's CRS-10 launch was the "first operational use"[15] of the Autonomous Flight Safety System (AFSS) on "either of Air Force Space Command Eastern or Western Ranges." AFSS is replacing "the ground-based mission flight control personnel and equipment with on-board Positioning, Navigation and Timing sources and decision logic. The benefits of AFSS include increased public safety, reduced reliance on range infrastructure, reduced range spacelift cost, increased schedule predictability and availability, operational flexibility, and launch slot flexibility."[16] The system consists of software developed by NASA, the Air Force, and DARPA, to which SpaceX adds an additional software layer customized for its rocket. AFSS has flown on 13 previous Falcon 9 missions in a so-called "shadow mode" for testing.[17] [18]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dragon Splashes Down in Pacific Ocean . NASA . Mark . Garcia . 19 March 2017 . 19 March 2017.
  2. Web site: Dragon CRS-10 – Orbit . Heavens Above . 2 March 2017 . 3 March 2017.
  3. News: 10th Dragon captured at International Space Station . Spaceflight Insider . Derek . Richardson . 23 February 2017 . 5 March 2017.
  4. News: Dragon departs Space Station after busy Cargo Mission, en-route to Splashdown Landing . Spaceflight 101 . 19 March 2017 . 20 March 2017.
  5. News: CRS-10 Dragon completes homecoming to conclude successful ISS mission . . Chris . Bergin . 19 March 2017 . 20 March 2017.
  6. News: Historic launch pad back in service with thundering blastoff by SpaceX . Spaceflight Now . Stephen . Clark . 19 February 2017 . 5 March 2017.
  7. News: SpaceX debuts Falcon 9 launch from 39A with CRS-10 Dragon mission . NASA Spaceflight . William . Graham . 17 February 2017 . 18 February 2017.
  8. News: Dragon rendezvous aborted, next attempt in 24 hours . Spaceflight Insider . Derek . Richardson . 22 February 2017 . 5 March 2017.
  9. News: SpaceX cargo ship aborts approach to station . CBS News . William . Hardwood . 22 February 2017 . 5 March 2017.
  10. Web site: Crew Prepares for U.S. and Russian Space Deliveries . NASA . Mark . Garcia . 22 February 2017 . 5 March 2017.
  11. News: SpaceX Dragon Delivers NASA Cargo to Space Station After 24-Hour Delay . Space.com . Tariq . Malik . 23 February 2017 . 5 March 2017.
  12. Audit of Commercial Resupply Services to the International Space Station . NASA Office of Inspector General . 29 . 26 April 2018 . 27 April 2018 . IG-18-016.
  13. News: SpaceX's Dragon supply carrier wraps up 10th mission to space station . Spaceflight Now . Stephen . Clark . 19 March 2017 . 19 March 2017.
  14. Web site: SAGE III: Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment on the International Space Station . https://web.archive.org/web/20161223071526/https://fpd.larc.nasa.gov/assets/sage-iii_missionbrochure_508.pdf . dead . 2016-12-23 . NASA . Kristyn . Damadeo . Heather . Hanson . 10 . 2015 . NP-2015-10-356-GSFC.
  15. News: Air Force Eastern Range Innovates With Autonomous Flight Safety System . Parabolic Arc . Doug . Messier . 26 February 2017 . 20 March 2017.
  16. Web site: 45th SW supports SpaceX's CRS-10 launch . United States Air Force . 45th Space Wing Public Affairs . 19 February 2017 . 16 March 2017.
  17. News: Only on Falcon 9: Automated system can terminate SpaceX rocket launches . Florida Today . James . Dean . 11 March 2017 . 20 March 2017.
  18. https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/air-force-reveals-48-launches-year-cape/ https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/03/air-force-reveals-48-launches-year-cape/