SpaceX - Dragon CRS-25 Mission patch.
July 14, 2022
Image above: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the cargo Dragon atop, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on July 14, 2022, beginning the company’s 25th resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff occurred at 8:44 p.m. EDT. Photo Credit: NASA.
Ignition and liftoff! SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and uncrewed Dragon spacecraft are climbing away from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, beginning the company’s 25th resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff occurred right on time at 8:44 p.m. EDT.
SpaceX CRS-25 launch and Falcon 9 first stage landing
Dragon will deliver more than 5,800 pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory, and its arrival is planned for Saturday, July 16. Coming up in the next minute, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 will pass through Max Q – the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket. After this, the rocket’s first and second stages will separate.
Main Engine Cutoff; First Stage Separates
The nine Merlin engines in the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage have finished their burn, and the first stage has separated from the vehicle. As the second stage continues carrying Dragon on its journey, the first stage will attempt a landing on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas.” This coming up in just a little more than five minutes.
First Stage Sticks the Landing!
Image above: The first stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lands on the company’s drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” following liftoff from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on July 14, 2022, for the company’s 25th resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA.
The first stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has successfully landed on the company’s “A Shortfall of Gravitas” drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, becoming the 130th time teams have recovered a first stage booster from Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy vehicles. Today’s launch marked the fifth flight for this Falcon 9, and it is the third Dragon flight to the International Space Station this year.
Up next, Dragon will separate from the rocket’s second stage for its solo journey to the International Space Station.
Dragon Flying Solo
Image above: The underside of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft can be seen as it separates from the company’s Falcon 9 rocket on its journey to the International Space Station for the 25th commercial resupply services mission. Liftoff occurred at 8:44 p.m. EDT from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. Photo Credit: NASA.
SpaceX’s cargo Dragon spacecraft has separated from the Falcon 9 rocket, continuing its journey to the International Space Station to deliver a shipment of supplies and equipment critical for multiple science and research investigations that will take place in space.
Dragon is expected to arrive at the station Saturday, July 16, and will autonomously dock to the station’s Harmony module, while NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Bob Hines monitor operations. The spacecraft will spend about one month attached to the orbiting laboratory before autonomously undocking and returning to Earth with research and return cargo.
Related articles:
Launch Day Arrives for SpaceX’s 25th Resupply Services Mission
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/07/launch-day-arrives-for-spacexs-25th.html
NASA’s New Mineral Dust Detector on ISS
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/07/nasas-new-mineral-dust-detector-on-iss.html
Soil, Sutures, and Climate Modeling Among Investigations Riding SpaceX CRS-25 Dragon to International Space Station
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2022/05/soil-sutures-and-climate-modeling-among.html
Related links:
SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/
International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html
Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Danielle Sempsrott/NASA TV/SciNews.
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