| SpaceX CRS-11 | |
| Names List: | SpX-11 |
| Mission Type: | ISS resupply |
| Operator: | SpaceX |
| Spacecraft Type: | Dragon 1 |
| Manufacturer: | SpaceX |
| Dimensions: | Height: Diameter: |
| Launch Date: | 3 June 2017, 21:07:38 UTC[1] |
| Launch Rocket: | Falcon 9 Full Thrust (B1035) |
| Launch Site: | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
| Landing Date: | 3 July 2017, 12:12 UTC[2] |
| Landing Site: | Pacific Ocean off Baja California |
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric orbit |
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth orbit |
| Orbit Inclination: | 51.66° |
| Apsis: | gee |
| Docking: | |
| Cargo Mass: | [6] |
| Insignia: | SpaceX CRS-11 Patch.png |
| Insignia Caption: | SpaceX CRS-11 mission patch |
| Programme: | Commercial Resupply Services |
| Previous Mission: | OA-7 |
| Next Mission: | SpaceX CRS-12 |
| Programme2: | Cargo Dragon |
| Previous Mission2: | SpaceX CRS-10 |
| Next Mission2: | SpaceX CRS-12 |
SpaceX CRS-11, also known as SpX-11, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, launched successfully on 3 June 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX. The mission utilized a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and was the first reuse of C106, a CRS Dragon cargo vessel that was previously flown on the CRS-4 mission.
CRS-11 was the penultimate of the first twelve missions awarded to SpaceX under the Commercial Resupply Services contract to resupply the International Space Station.
The CRS-11 mission was the first time that a Dragon spacecraft has been reused, helping SpaceX to scale back its production line and shift focus to Dragon 2.[7]
CRS-11 launched aboard a Falcon 9 launch vehicle on 3 June 2017 at 21:07:38 UTC from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A).[1] The spacecraft rendezvoused with the station on 5 June 2017 and conducted a series of orbit adjustment burns to match speed, altitude, and orientation with the ISS. After arriving at the capture point at 13:37 UTC, the vehicle was snared at 13:52 UTC by the Canadarm2, operated by Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer.[8] It was berthed to the Harmony module at 16:07 UTC.[4]
The Falcon 9 first stage landed successfully on Landing Zone 1, making it the fifth successful touch down on land and the 11th overall.[9]
The CRS-11 Dragon remained attached to the ISS for just over 27 days. Having been filled with around of cargo,[10] Dragon was unberthed from the station on 2 July 2017 at approximately 18:00 UTC.[5] It was moved to its release position by Canadarm2, but poor sea conditions forced a delay to the following day.[11] On 3 July 2017, at 06:41 UTC, crew members commanded Canadarm2 to release Dragon, and soon after the spacecraft began a series of thruster firings to move it away from the station.[11] About five hours after departing from ISS, Dragon closed its guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) bay door and conducted a 10-minute deorbit burn. Immediately after, the spacecraft jettisoned its cargo trunk and oriented itself for reentry. Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California at 12:12 UTC.[2]
NASA has contracted for the CRS-11 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. CRS-11 carried a total of of material into orbit. This included of pressurised cargo with packaging bound for the International Space Station, and of unpressurised cargo composed of three external station experiments: Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), MUSES and Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA).[6] [12]
The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS:[6]
A constellation of five CubeSats was also carried on the mission as part of Birds-1, one each from the countries of Japan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Mongolia. The satellites from Bangladesh (BRAC ONNESHA), Ghana (GhanaSat-1), and Mongolia (Mazaalai) were those countries' first satellites in space.[15]