SpaceX CRS-29
CRS-29 approaching ISS
NamesSpX-29
Mission typeISS resupply
OperatorSpaceX
COSPAR ID2023-173A
SATCAT no.58255
Mission duration42 days, 16 hours and 5 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCargo Dragon C211
Spacecraft typeCargo Dragon
ManufacturerSpaceX
Dry mass9,525 kg (20,999 lb)
DimensionsHeight: 8.1 m (27 ft)
Diameter: 4 m (13 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date10 November 2023, 01:28 UTC[1]
RocketFalcon 9, B1081.2
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
Recovered byShannon (ship)
Landing date22 December 2023, 17:33 UTC
Landing siteGulf of Mexico
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Inclination51.66°
Docking with ISS
Docking portHarmony forward
Docking date11 November 2023, 10:07 UTC
Undocking date21 December 2023, 22:05 UTC
Time docked40 days, 11 hours and 58 minutes

SpaceX CRS-29 mission Patch
 

SpaceX CRS-29, also known as SpX-29, is a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched on 10 November 2023.[2] The mission is contracted by NASA and is scheduled to be flown by SpaceX using Cargo Dragon C211. This will the seventh flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2.[3]

Cargo Dragon

SpaceX plans to reuse the Cargo Dragons up to five times. The Cargo Dragon will launch without SuperDraco abort engines, without seats, cockpit controls and the life support system required to sustain astronauts in space.[4][5] Dragon 2 improves on Dragon 1 in several ways, including lessened refurbishment time, leading to shorter periods between flights.[6]

The new Cargo Dragon capsules under the NASA CRS Phase 2 contract will land east of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean.[4][6]

Launch

NASA and SpaceX originally targeted a window no earlier than 03:01 UTC on Sunday, November 6, for the launch of the company’s 29th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. The date shift takes into account required time for teams to complete pad readiness after the agency’s Psyche launch on SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, which lifted off on October 13 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.[1] Falcon 9 and the Cargo Dragon spacecraft lifted off on 10 November 2023 at 01:28:14 UTC from Launch Complex 39A. The first stage separated at T+2:21, and Falcon 9 landed at Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at T+7:36. The second stage shut down at T+8:33, and the Dragon spacecraft separated from the second stage at T+11:46.

Payload

NASA contracted for the CRS-29 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date of launch, and orbital parameters for the Cargo Dragon.[7]

SpaceX CRS-29 carries over 2,950 kg (6,500 lb) of cargo, where 2,381 kg (5,249 lb) are pressurized cargo with packaging and 569 kg (1,254 lb) are unpressurized cargo.[8]

  • Science investigations: ~1,012 kg (2,231 lb)
  • Vehicle hardware: ~491 kg (1,082 lb)
  • Crew supplies: ~681 kg (1,501 lb)
  • Spacewalk equipment: ~48 kg (106 lb)
  • Computer resources: ~46 kg (101 lb)

Research

SpaceX’s will deliver new science investigations, food, supplies, and equipment to the international crew. The research includes work to understand interactions between weather on Earth and space, and laser communications. NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) will study atmospheric gravity waves –powerful waves formed by weather disturbances on Earth such as strong thunderstorms or brewing hurricanes – to understand the flow of energy through Earth’s upper atmosphere and space. Another experiment – Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low-Earth-Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal – (ILLUMA-T) aims to test high data rate laser communications from the space station to Earth. This will complete NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system by sending high-resolution data to the agency’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, which launched in December 2021.[9][10] It will be tested for six months on ISS, before being placed into operational use.[11]

Other investigations that will launch with the resupply mission include ESA’s (European Space Agency) Aquamembrane-3, which will test water filtration using proteins found in nature for water recycling and recovery, and Plant Habitat-06, which will evaluate the effects of spaceflight on plant defense responses using multiple genotypes of tomato.[9]

Redwire will be launching microgravity research payloads focused on pharmaceutical drug development and regenerative medicine, including an experiment in bioprinting cardiac tissue.[12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Garcia, Mark (17 October 2023). "Research, Robotics, and Spacesuits Top Schedule as Spacewalk Times Adjusted". blogs.nasa.gov. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. ↑ Garcia, Mark (6 March 2023). "Expanded Station Crew Works Together Before Quartet Departure". NASA. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  3. ↑ Reckart, Timothy (15 June 2022). "Microgravity Research Flights". NASA. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 Office of Inspector General (26 April 2018). Audit of Commercial Resupply Services to the International Space Center (PDF) (Report). Vol. IG-18-016. NASA. pp. 24, 28–30. Retrieved 4 April 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ↑ "Dragon 2 modifications to Carry Cargo for CRS-2 missions". Teslarati. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  6. 1 2 Clark, Stephen (2 August 2019). "SpaceX to begin flights under new cargo resupply contract next year". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "SpaceX Commercial Resupply". ISS Program Office. NASA. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ↑ "NASA's SpaceX CRS-29 Mission Overview". Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  9. 1 2 "NASA Invites Media to Upcoming SpaceX Resupply Launch to Space Station - NASA". Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  10. ↑ Patrascu, Daniel (30 August 2023). "NASA to Fit Lasers on the Space Station, They're Not for Fighting Aliens". autoevolution. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  11. ↑ Vigliarolo, Brandon. "NASA readying hardware for gigabit upgrade to ISS internet". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  12. ↑ "Redwire BioFabrication Facility Successfully Prints First Human Knee Meniscus on ISS, Paving the Way for Advanced In-Space Bioprinting Capabilities to Benefit Human Health". Yahoo Finance. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
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