| April 24, 2019 MEDIA ADVISORY M019-05 NASA to Broadcast Next Space Station Resupply Launch, Prelaunch Activities
NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting no earlier than 4:22 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 30, for the launch of its next resupply mission to the International Space Station. Live coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website Monday, April 29, with prelaunch events. This is the 17th SpaceX mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. The Dragon spacecraft will deliver supplies including critical materials to support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 59 and 60. The spacecraft’s unpressurized trunk will transport NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory 3 (OCO-3) and Space Test Program-Houston 6 (STP-H6). OCO-3 will be installed robotically on the exterior of the space station’s Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility Unit, where it will measure and map carbon dioxide from space to increase our understanding of the relationship between carbon and climate. STP-H6 is an X-ray communication investigation that will be used to perform a space-based demonstration of a new technology for generating beams of modulated X-rays. This technology may be useful for providing efficient communication to deep space probes, or communicating with hypersonic vehicles where plasma sheaths prevent traditional radio communications. The spacecraft will take two days to reach the space station before installation on Thursday, May 2. When it arrives, astronaut David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency will grapple Dragon, with NASA astronaut Nick Hague serving as backup. NASA astronaut Christina Koch will assist by monitoring telemetry during Dragon’s approach. Station crew will monitor Dragon vehicle functions during rendezvous. After Dragon capture, mission control in Houston will send commands to the station’s arm to rotate and install the spacecraft on the bottom of the station’s Harmony module. Full mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern): Monday, April 29 Press Site Hours of Operation: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. News Media Schedule
Media who would like to call in for the prelaunch news conference should phone the NASA News Center at 321-867-2468. Tuesday, April 30 Press Site Hours of Operation: 2 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. News Media Schedule
Launch Viewing Media may view the CRS-17 launch from the Kennedy Press Site, NASA Causeway or the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) roof (space is limited). Media who wish to view the launch from the NASA Causeway or the VAB roof should meet at the Kennedy Press Site at 2:30 a.m. to be escorted. Media must RSVP with their preference for the NASA Causeway or the VAB roof by noon on Friday, April 26 to ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. Only one representative per organization may sign up for the VAB roof. NASA TV Launch Coverage NASA TV live coverage will begin at 4 a.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135. Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast. NASA Web Prelaunch and Launch Coverage Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the SpaceX CRS-17 flight will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning at 4 a.m. as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the newsroom at 321-867-2468. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at http://blogs.nasa.gov/spacex. Postlaunch News Conference on NASA TV A postlaunch news conference will occur at about 5:30 a.m. in Kennedy’s Press Site TV Auditorium and air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. Media who would like to call in should phone the NASA News Center at 321-867-2468. Learn more about the SpaceX CRS-17 mission by going to the mission home page at: | ||
|
Press Contacts Joshua Finch Mary Maclaughlin
|
||
|
NASA Kennedy Space Center news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail message with the subject line subscribe to ksc-request@newsletters.nasa.gov. To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message with the subject line unsubscribe to ksc-request@newsletters.nasa.gov. |
