SpaceX CRS-15
Dragon spacecraft on approach to ISS
Mission typeISS resupply
OperatorSpaceX
COSPAR ID2018-055A
SATCAT no.43522Edit this on Wikidata
Mission durationPlanned: 1 month
Final: 35 days, 12 hours, 35 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftDragon C111.2
Spacecraft typeCRS Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Dry mass4,200 kg (9,300 lb)
DimensionsHeight: 6.1 m (20 ft)
Diameter: 3.7 m (12 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date29 June 2018, 09:42 (2018-06-29UTC09:42) UTC[1]
RocketFalcon 9 FT
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-40
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
DisposalRecovered
Landing date3 August 2018, 22:17 (2018-08-03UTC22:18) UTC[2]
Landing sitePacific Ocean,
off Baja California
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Inclination51.6°
Berthing at ISS
Berthing portHarmony nadir
RMS capture2 July 2018, 10:54 UTC[3]
Berthing date2 July 2018, 13:50 UTC[3]
Unberthing date3 August 2018
RMS release3 August 2018, 16:38 UTC[2]
Time berthed31 days
Cargo
Mass2,697 kg (5,946 lb)
Pressurised1,712 kg (3,774 lb)
Unpressurised985 kg (2,172 lb)

NASA SpX-15 mission patch
 

SpaceX CRS-15, also known as SpX-15, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched 29 June 2018 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.[1] The mission was contracted by NASA and flown by SpaceX.

Launch

Launch of CRS-15

In early 2015, NASA awarded a contract extension to SpaceX for three additional CRS missions (CRS-13 to CRS-15).[4] In June 2016, a NASA Inspector General report had this mission manifested for April 2018,[5] but this was pushed back, first to 6 June, to 9 June, to 28 June and finally to 29 June 2018.[6]

The mission launched on 29 June 2018 at 09:42 UTC aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 40.[1] The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft rendezvoused with the International Space Station on 2 July 2018. It was captured by the Canadarm2 at 10:54 UTC and was berthed to the Harmony node at 13:50 UTC.[3] On 3 August 2018, Dragon was released from ISS at 16:38 UTC and deorbited, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 5 hours later at 22:17 UTC, returning more than 1,700 kg (3,748 lb) of cargo to Earth.[2]

It is reported that the Dragon spacecraft may have experienced some parachute anomaly during its flight to the ISS, but it did not prevent the capsule from successful splashdown.[7]

Payload

NASA contracted for the CRS-15 mission from SpaceX and therefore determined the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. According to a NASA mission overview, CRS-15 carried a total of 2,697 kg (5,946 lb) of total cargo, divided between 1,712 kg (3,774 lb) of pressurized material and 985 kg (2,172 lb) of unpressurized cargo.[8] The external payloads manifested for this flight were ECOSTRESS[9][10] and a Latching End Effector for Canadarm2.[8] CubeSats included on this flight were three Biarri-Squad satellites built by Boeing for a multinational partnership led by the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, and three satellites making up the Japanese-sponsored Birds-2 program: BHUTAN-1 from Bhutan, Maya-1 from the Philippines, and UiTMSAT-1 from Malaysia.[11] Furthermore, it contained an interactive artwork by artist Nahum entitled The Contour of Presence, a collaboration with the International Space University, Space Application Services and the European Space Agency.[12]

The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS:[8]

  • Science investigations: 1,233 kg (2,718 lb)
  • Crew supplies: 205 kg (452 lb)
  • Vehicle hardware: 178 kg (392 lb)
  • Spacewalk equipment: 63 kg (139 lb)
  • Computer resources: 21 kg (46 lb)
  • Russian hardware: 12 kg (26 lb)
  • External payloads: 985 kg (2,172 lb)
    • ECOSTRESS: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
    • Latching End Effector: 435 kg (959 lb)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Clark, Stephen (29 June 2018). "SpaceX launches AI-enabled robot companion, vegetation monitor to space station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Clark, Stephen (3 August 2018). "SpaceX cargo capsule comes back to Earth from space station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Gebhardt, Chris (2 July 2018). "SpaceX CRS-15 Dragon arrives at ISS with science/crew supply payloads". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
  4. ↑ de Selding, Peter B. (24 February 2016). "SpaceX wins 5 new space station cargo missions in NASA contract estimated at $700 million". SpaceNews. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  5. ↑ NASA Office of Inspector General (28 June 2016). NASA's Response to SpaceX's June 2015 Launch Failure: Impacts on Commercial Resupply of the International Space Station (PDF) (Report). NASA Office of Inspector General. p. 13. Report No. IG-16-025. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Clark, Stephen (4 June 2018). "Launch Schedule". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018.
  7. ↑ Berger, Eric (7 March 2019). "Dragon has docked—but the real pucker moment for SpaceX's capsule awaits". Ars Technica. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 "SpaceX CRS-15 Mission Overview" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  9. ↑ Kenol, Jules; Love, John (2016). Research Capability of ISS for a Wide Spectrum of Science Disciplines, Including Materials Science (PDF). Materials in the Space Environment Workshop. 17 May 2016. Italian Space Agency, Rome.
  10. ↑ Scimemi, Sam (July 2016). International Space Station Status July 2016 (PDF) (Technical report). NASA. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Graham, William (28 June 2018). "Final Block 4 Falcon 9 launches CRS-15 Dragon". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  12. ↑ ""It's official: I have an artwork in outer space"". Makery. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
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