10:40 AM (Tuesday) | *US ready to return to human spaceflight on Wednesday…weather permitting*
Paul Dorian
The SpaceX Falcon 9, with the Crew Dragon spacecraft on top of the rocket, sits on Launch Pad 39-A on Monday at Kennedy Space Center. Photograph: David J Phillip/AP
Overview
It has been 9 years since the US has sent its own astronauts into orbit, but that drought is expected to end on Wednesday with a Florida rocket launch…that is, if the weather permits and there is the threat of showers and thunderstorms. Should the launch take place on Wednesday, it will be a public-private partnership that returns the US to the business of human spaceflight. Not since the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet in 2011 has the US possessed the capability to send its astronauts into orbit and the success of this week’s mission known formally as SpaceX Demo-2 may shape the direction of spaceflight for a generation. If the weather prevents the launch on Wednesday, another attempt will be made on Saturday and, if needed, a third attempt is set for Sunday.
Details
On Wednesday, May 27th, SpaceX is set to launch its very first passengers to space, possibly setting the course for a new era of public and private partnership for years to come. This will be the first time since 2011 that astronauts have launched to orbit from US soil and the first time that a private vehicle will take them there. July 8th, 2011, marked the final flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle and the last time astronauts launched to orbit from the United States. Ever since, NASA has flown all of its astronauts and international partners to the space station on Russia’s Soyuz capsule. The arrangement costs NASA about $80 million per seat — and it has been the agency’s only option for getting people to the station.
The crew access arm leading to the Crew Dragon, perched atop the Falcon 9. Image courtesy SpaceX
The launch of a Falcon 9 rocket is set for 4:33 PM on Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral carrying a Dragon crew capsule to the International Space Station (ISS). It will carry two Americans as test pilots, both veterans of the precious space shuttle missions, and they will remain at the ISS for up to three months. The hardware was built by SpaceX, the private California-based company founded by Elon Musk and funded by NASA. SpaceX has spent the last six years getting to this point including a full dress rehearsal last year successfully launching the Dragon capsule to the station without a crew on board. The company also tested the capsule’s emergency escape system, confirming that the Crew Dragon can carry people to safety is something goes wrong during the launch. If all goes as planned, it’s a quick trip to Earth orbit for the two astronauts. The Falcon 9 rocket will release the Crew Dragon into low Earth orbit about 12 minutes after takeoff. The rocket will then return to Earth where it is scheduled to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. For the next 19 hours, the astronauts will orbit the planet. During that time, the Crew Dragon will raise its orbit slightly by periodically igniting its engines in order to catch up with the International Space Station.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft is equipped with a powerful abort system that can propel the capsule safely away from a failing booster at any point from the launch pad to orbit. Before the rocket can be cleared for launch, mission managers must assess the weather along the spacecraft's northeasterly trajectory, shown here, to ensure acceptable conditions for a safe splashdown in the unlikely event of an abort. Courtesy NASA
In terms of the weather, it is looking questionable for Wednesday afternoon across the east-central part of Florida with the likelihood of scattered-to-numerous showers and thunderstorms. Any thunderstorm that forms can contain some heavy rainfall and cloud-to-ground lightning which would certainly be a red flag warning for a rocket launch. If NASA and SpaceX decide to postpone the launch on Wednesday, the mission has back-up times set for Saturday at 3:22 PM and Sunday at 3 PM.
For live launch coverage: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public
Meteorologist Paul Dorian
Perspecta, Inc.
perspectaweather.com
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