SpaceX CRS-11

SpaceX CRS-11

CRS-11 Dragon capsule on approach to the ISS
Mission type ISS resupply
Operator SpaceX
COSPAR ID 2017-030A
SATCAT no. 42744
Mission duration Final: 29 days, 15 hours, 4 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Dragon C106
Spacecraft type CRS Dragon
Manufacturer SpaceX
Dry mass 4,200 kg (9,300 lb)
Dimensions Height: 6.1 m (20 ft)
Diameter: 3.7 m (12 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date 3 June 2017, 21:07:38 (2017-06-03UTC21:07:38) UTC[1]
Rocket Falcon 9 Full Thrust
Launch site Kennedy LC-39A
Contractor SpaceX
End of mission
Disposal Recovered
Landing date 3 July 2017, 12:12 (2017-07-03UTC12:13) UTC[2]
Landing site Pacific Ocean,
off Baja California
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Inclination 51.6°
Epoch Planned
Berthing at ISS
Berthing port Harmony nadir[1]
RMS capture 5 June 2017, 13:52 UTC[3]
Berthing date 5 June 2017, 16:07 UTC[4]
Unberthing date 2 July 2017, ≈18:00 UTC[5]
RMS release 3 July 2017, 06:41 UTC[2]
Time berthed 27 days, 1 hour, 53 minutes
Cargo
Mass 2,708 kg (5,970 lb)[6]
Pressurised 1,665 kg (3,671 lb)[6]
Unpressurised 1,002 kg (2,209 lb)[6]


NASA SpX-11 mission patch

SpaceX CRS-11, also known as SpX-11, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, launched successfully on 3 June 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX. The mission utilized a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and was the first reuse of C106, a CRS Dragon cargo vessel that was previously flown on the CRS-4 mission.

CRS-11 was the penultimate of the first twelve missions awarded to SpaceX under the Commercial Resupply Services contract to resupply the International Space Station.

Rocket and spacecraft

Launch of the CRS-11 mission

The CRS-11 mission was the first time that a Dragon spacecraft has been reused, helping SpaceX to scale back its production line and shift focus to Dragon 2.[7]

CRS-11 launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on 3 June 2017 at 21:07 UTC from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A.[1] The spacecraft rendezvoused with the station on 5 June and conducted a series of orbit adjustment burns to match speed, altitude, and orientation with the ISS. After arriving at the capture point at 13:37 UTC, the vehicle was snared at 13:52 UTC by the Canadarm2, operated by Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer.[8] It was berthed to the Harmony module at 16:07 UTC.[4]

The Falcon 9 first stage landed successfully on Landing Zone 1, making it the fifth successful touch down on land and the 11th overall.[9]

The CRS-11 Dragon remained attached to the ISS for just over 27 days. Having been filled with around 1,900 kg (4,100 lb) of cargo,[10] Dragon was unberthed from the station on 2 July 2017 at approximately 18:00 UTC.[5] It was moved to its release position by Canadarm2, but poor sea conditions forced a delay to the following day.[11] On 3 July at 06:41 UTC, crew members commanded Canadarm2 to release Dragon, and soon after the spacecraft began a series of thruster firings to move it away from the station.[11] About five hours after departing from ISS, Dragon closed its GNC bay door and conducted a 10-minute deorbit burn. Immediately after, the spacecraft jettisoned its cargo trunk and oriented itself for reentry. Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California at 12:12 UTC.[2]

Manifest

NASA has contracted for the CRS-11 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. CRS-11 carried a total of 2,708 kg (5,970 lb) of material into orbit. This included 1,665 kg (3,671 lb) of pressurised cargo with packaging bound for the International Space Station, and 1,002 kg (2,209 lb) of unpressurised cargo composed of three external station experiments: NICER, MUSES and ROSA.[6][12]

The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS:[6]

A constellation of five CubeSats was also carried on the mission, one each from the countries of Japan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Mongolia. The satellites from Bangladesh (BRAC ONNESHA), Ghana (GhanaSat-1), and Mongolia (Mazaalai) were those countries' first satellites in space.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Clark, Stephen (3 June 2017). "Reused Dragon cargo capsule launched on journey to space station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Richardson, Derek (3 July 2017). "Dragon splashes down in Pacific with time-critical experiments". Spaceflight Insider. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Clark, Stephen (5 June 2017). "Dragon supply ship delivers to space station for second time". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 Garcia, Mark (5 June 2017). "Dragon Attached to Station for Cargo Transfers". NASA. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  5. 1 2 McDowell, Jonathan (2 July 2017). "The Space Report" (739). Jonathan's Space Pages. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "SpaceX CRS-11 Mission Overview" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Foust, Jeff (14 October 2016). "SpaceX to reuse Dragon capsules on cargo missions". Space News.
  8. ↑ Gebhardt, Chris (5 June 2017). "SpaceX's CRS-11 Dragon captured by Station for a second time". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  9. ↑ O'Kane, Sean (6 June 2017). "Watch SpaceX’s most recent beachside rocket landing in 4K". The Verge.
  10. ↑ Clark, Stephen (3 July 2017). "Live coverage: SpaceX’s Dragon supply ship ends month-long mission". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  11. 1 2 Gebhardt, Chris (3 July 2017). "Reused Dragon returns to Earth after month-long science bonanza". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 3 July 2017.
  12. ↑ Clark, Stephen (3 June 2017). "Cargo manifest for SpaceX’s 11th resupply mission to the space station". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  13. ↑ "BIRDS-1 constellation of five CubeSats deployed". AMSAT UK. 7 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.

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