The sixth SpaceX cargo mission to the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch on Monday, April 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA Television coverage of the launch begins at 3:30 p.m. EDT.
The company’s Falcon 9 rocket will lift off at 4:33 p.m., carrying its Dragon cargo spacecraft. Dragon is filled with more than 4,300 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support about 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 43 and 44.
In addition to launch coverage, NASA also will host a series of prelaunch news conferences on Sunday, April 12, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. All briefings, which are subject to a change in time, will air live on NASA TV and the agency’s website.
During panel discussions Sunday at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., scientists and researchers will discuss the onboard science and research studies. The series of briefings will conclude with a prelaunch news conference at 5 p.m. A post-launch briefing will be held approximately 90 minutes after liftoff Monday.
Science payloads will study new ways to possibly counteract the microgravity-induced cell damage seen during spaceflight, the effects of microgravity on the most common cells in bones, gather new insight that could lead to treatments for osteoporosis and muscle wasting conditions, continue studies into astronaut vision changes and test a new material that could one day be used as a synthetic muscle for robotics explorers of the future.
A Monday launch will result in the Dragon spacecraft arriving at the space station Wednesday, April 15. Expedition 43 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency) will use the station’s 57.7-foot robotic arm to reach out and capture Dragon at approximately 7 a.m. Flight Engineer Terry Virts of NASA will support Cristoforetti as they operate from the station’s cupola. NASA TV coverage of grapple will begin at 5 a.m. Coverage of Dragon’s installation to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 9:15 a.m.??
If the launch does not occur on Monday, the next launch opportunity would be at approximately 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, April 14.??
After about five weeks at the space station, Dragon will return to Earth filled with more than 3,000 pounds of cargo including crew supplies, hardware and computer resources, science experiments, and space station hardware.
Media may request accreditation to attend the prelaunch news conferences, events and launch online at: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
The deadline for U.S. media to apply for accreditation is noon on April 9. The application deadline has passed for international media. Media credentials will be valid for mission activities from launch through splashdown at Kennedy and at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
PRESS ACCREDITATION OFFICE HOURS OF OPERATION
Badges will be issued at The Press Accreditation Office located on State Road 3, Merritt Island. Badging hours of operation are as follows:
Sunday, April 12: 12:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Monday, April 13: 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
For more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or jennifer.p.horner@nasa.gov.
PRESS SITE HOURS OF OPERATION
The NASA Press Site at Kennedy will be open as follows:
Thursday, April 9: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Friday, April 10: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 11: Closed
Sunday, April 12: 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Monday, April 13: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Tuesday, April 14: In the event of a 24-hour scrub, 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
NASA SOCIAL
Sunday, April 12 – Monday, April 13. Morning check in time is 8:30 a.m. Up to 50 social media representatives have been invited to cover launch. The Kennedy Press Site Annex will serve as their home base, and they will view launch from the ITL Causeway. Social media will attend the same activities as the traditional news media. Social media Representatives will attend Space Launch Complex 40 pad viewing and may have additional stops.
ISS SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY PANEL ON NASA TV
Sunday, April 12 (L-1 day): An ISS Science, Research and Technology briefing will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site at 1:30 p.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming internet coverage.
Participants in the briefing will be:
Marshall Porterfield, director, Space Life and Physical Sciences, NASA Headquarters
Kirt Costello, International Space Station deputy chief scientist, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Mike Roberts, senior research pathway manager, CASIS
Noel Clark, principal investigator, Observation and Analysis of Smectic Islands In Space (OASIS), University of Colorado
Paola D. Pajevic, principal investigator, Osteocytes and Mechanomechano-transduction (Osteo-4), Harvard University
ISS NATIONAL LAB PANEL ON NASA TV
Sunday, April 12 (L-1 day): An ISS National lab panel will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site at 3:30 p.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming internet coverage.
Participants in the panel will be:
Kirt Costello, International Space Station deputy chief scientist, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Mike Roberts, senior research pathway manager, CASIS
Paul Reichert, principal investigator, Protein Crystal Growth-3, Merck Research Laboratories
Lenore Rasmussen, RasLabs, Synthetic Muscle for Prosthetics and Robotics
PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE ON NASA TV
Sunday, April 12 (L-1 day): The Prelaunch News Conference will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site at 5 p.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming internet coverage.
Participants in the briefing will be:
Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Mission Assurance, SpaceX
Dan Hartman, deputy International Space Station Program manager, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Mike McAleenan, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron
POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE ON NASA TV
Monday, April 13: A post-launch news conference will be held at approximately 90 minutes after launch. NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.
Participants in the post-launch news conference will be:
Dan Hartman, deputy International Space Station Program Manager, NASA’s Johnson Space Ceneter
Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Mission Assurance, SpaceX
REMOTE CAMERA SETUPS AND FALCON 9 LAUNCH PAD PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
Monday, April 13 (Launch Day): There will be photo opportunity of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule on the launch pad, and media will be able to establish sound-activated remote cameras at the launch pad. The location is within Space Launch Complex 40 on the east side of the complex outside the pad perimeter fence. Media who want to participate will depart from Kennedy’s Press Site by government bus at 9:30 a.m. and return at approximately 11:25 a.m. after remote cameras have been established. SpaceX security regulations require that news media representatives attending this event be U.S. citizens. International media who did not apply by the deadline to meet access requirements to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will depart from the Press Site in a separate government vehicle at 9:30 a.m. and be able to establish remote cameras at Universal Camera Site 3 (UCS-3) north of the launch complex. NASA Social attendees will depart the Press Site for Space Launch Complex 40 by government bus at 8 a.m. for a tour, which also includes a launch pad photo opportunity.
NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA LAUNCH VIEWING
Monday, April 13 (Launch Day): News media and social media may view the launch from the ITL Causeway or Vehicle Assembly Building. Busses for news media and social media will depart from the Press Site parking lot for the ITL Causeway at 3 p.m. A sign-up sheet will be available in the newsroom for news media desiring to photograph the launch from the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The space available is limited, and media must sign up in person. Departure from the NASA News Center for the VAB will be at 3:25 p.m.
NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE
Monday, April 13 (Launch day): NASA TV live coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. EDT and conclude at approximately 5:30 p.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 starting at 3 p.m. Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.
IN-FLIGHT NASA TV COVERAGE
If launch occurs April 13, NASA TV will provide live coverage Wednesday, April 15, of the arrival of the Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station. Grapple and berthing coverage will begin at 5 a.m. with grapple at approximately 7:14 a.m. Berthing coverage begins at 9:15 a.m.
NASA WEB PRELAUNCH AND LAUNCH COVERAGE
Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the SpaceX CRS-6 flight will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and text updates beginning at 3:30 p.m. as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video, podcast and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Nancy Bray at 321-867-9112. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog and learn more about the SpaceX CRS-6 mission by going to the mission home page at: http://www.nasa.gov/SpaceX
The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the NASA News Twitter feed, visit: http://www.twitter.com/NASAKennedy
The NASA News Facebook feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the NASA Facebook feed, visit: http://www.facebook.com/NASAKennedy
RECORDED STATUS
Recorded status reports on the launch of SpaceX CRS-6 and associated prelaunch activities will be provided on the Kennedy media phone line starting Friday, April 10. The telephone number is 321-867-2525.
WIRELESS CAPABILITY
Wireless capability for the news media is available at the Kennedy Press Site.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For video b-roll and other International Space Station media resources, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews
For more information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station
