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February 26th, 2013, 11:49 PM
I hope I don't bore you all with this stuff! It just fascinates me, that's all :D
Can't wait to watch it launch Friday!
After SpaceX’s successful first official resupply mission to the International Space Station last October, SpaceX is set to launch its second Commercial Resupply (CRS) mission to the orbiting lab. The SpaceX CRS-2 mission is targeting launch at 10:10AM EST Friday, March 1 from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
If all goes as planned, Dragon will arrive at station on Saturday, March 2, where it will be grappled and berthed to the complex for an expected three-week visit. Dragon is scheduled to return to Earth on March 25 for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Baja California. Dragon is the only cargo craft capable of returning a significant amount of supplies from station to Earth, including experiments.
A couple fun facts about the Falcon 9 rocket:
21st-century rocket: The first rocket completely designed in the 21st century, Falcon 9 was developed from a blank sheet to first launch in four and a half years (November 2005 to June 2010) for less than $300 million.
Statistics: Falcon 9 topped with a Dragon spacecraft is 48.1 meters (157 feet) tall and 12 feet in diameter. Its nine first stage Merlin engines generate 855,000 pounds of pounds of thrust at sea level, rising to nearly 1,000,000 pounds of thrust as Falcon 9 climbs out of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Mission success record: Falcon 9 has achieved 100% of its primary mission objectives on every flight to date, including June 2010 and December 2010 flights to orbit, and its successful mission launching the Dragon spacecraft to the ISS in May 2012. In October 2012, Falcon 9 again successfully launched Dragon to the ISS, beginning the first of 12 official cargo resupply missions for NASA.
Why “Falcon”? Falcon 9 is named for the Millennium Falcon in the “Star Wars” movies. The number 9 refers to the nine Merlin engines that power Falcon 9’s first stage; one Merlin vacuum engine powers the second stage.
Source (http://www.spacex.com/downloads/crs2-press-kit.pdf)(caution, it's a long PDF file, but it contains lots of information!)
This is one of two patches for the flight-
http://spacexlaunch.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v83/p1452191336-4.jpg (http://SpaceXLaunch.zenfolio.com/p190296859/e568eae68)
One last fun fact! Ever since the first successful launch of a SpaceX rocket in 2008, every mission patch has included a four leaf clover as a sign of good luck.
Can't wait to watch it launch Friday!
After SpaceX’s successful first official resupply mission to the International Space Station last October, SpaceX is set to launch its second Commercial Resupply (CRS) mission to the orbiting lab. The SpaceX CRS-2 mission is targeting launch at 10:10AM EST Friday, March 1 from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
If all goes as planned, Dragon will arrive at station on Saturday, March 2, where it will be grappled and berthed to the complex for an expected three-week visit. Dragon is scheduled to return to Earth on March 25 for a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of Baja California. Dragon is the only cargo craft capable of returning a significant amount of supplies from station to Earth, including experiments.
A couple fun facts about the Falcon 9 rocket:
21st-century rocket: The first rocket completely designed in the 21st century, Falcon 9 was developed from a blank sheet to first launch in four and a half years (November 2005 to June 2010) for less than $300 million.
Statistics: Falcon 9 topped with a Dragon spacecraft is 48.1 meters (157 feet) tall and 12 feet in diameter. Its nine first stage Merlin engines generate 855,000 pounds of pounds of thrust at sea level, rising to nearly 1,000,000 pounds of thrust as Falcon 9 climbs out of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Mission success record: Falcon 9 has achieved 100% of its primary mission objectives on every flight to date, including June 2010 and December 2010 flights to orbit, and its successful mission launching the Dragon spacecraft to the ISS in May 2012. In October 2012, Falcon 9 again successfully launched Dragon to the ISS, beginning the first of 12 official cargo resupply missions for NASA.
Why “Falcon”? Falcon 9 is named for the Millennium Falcon in the “Star Wars” movies. The number 9 refers to the nine Merlin engines that power Falcon 9’s first stage; one Merlin vacuum engine powers the second stage.
Source (http://www.spacex.com/downloads/crs2-press-kit.pdf)(caution, it's a long PDF file, but it contains lots of information!)
This is one of two patches for the flight-
http://spacexlaunch.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v83/p1452191336-4.jpg (http://SpaceXLaunch.zenfolio.com/p190296859/e568eae68)
One last fun fact! Ever since the first successful launch of a SpaceX rocket in 2008, every mission patch has included a four leaf clover as a sign of good luck.