As we disembark the buses we hear “Check item 347,” and remember that the OA-9 launch team has been on the job since 10:00 pm, 5 hours earlier than us. The clouds are broken and allow us glimpses of stars, but we are also able to see clouds lighting up, and an occasional flash from a storm just offshore.
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What's in the OA-9 Cygnus?
Resupply mission OA-9 will carry a mix of cargo weighing 3,350 Kg (7,385 lbs.) plus an array of Cube SATS. This version of the Cygnus is the Enhanced Cygnus Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) with an empty weight of 3,375 Kg, standing 639 cm tall (20 ft) and controlled with 32 thrusters. After delivering supplies it will be reloaded with approximately 3,200 Kg of disposal cargo before departing the ISS. The typical resupply mission carries crew provisions, food, scientific experiments, EVA supplies and vehicle hardware. So what's in the OA-9 Cygnus?
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GOES-S to Assist Pacific Hurricane Hunters
A United Launch Alliance Atlas-V rocket lifted the GOES-S weather-tracking satellite to orbit. The launch occurred at the top of the launch window, 5:02 PM on March 1, 2018. The weather was perfect - the 45th Space Wing Weather Squadron announced a 0% probability of violating weather constraints. The rocket was flying with the extra-large fairing that is five meters in diameter instead of the usual four. Because of the mass of the satellite, four external solid rocket boosters were attached to the Atlas V to provide additional lift. Those extra engines provided a beautiful white trail of smoke as the rocket ascended.
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TESS To Begin Search for Habitable Planets After SpaceX Launch on April 16 2018
Dr. George Ricker from Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosted a media day today for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The principal investigator explained TESS's role between the Kepler Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.
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NASA Day of Remembrance Focuses on Four Early Space Casualties
A large crowd convened at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Information Center on January 25, 2018 for the annual NASA Day of Remembrance. A focus this year was on four astronauts who perished in events other than Apollo One, Challenger, and Columbia. Family members of Charles A. Bassett II, Elliot M. See Jr., Clifton C. Williams, and Michael J. Adams shared memories of each astronaut. Also in attendance, Tal Ramon, son of Columbia crew member Ilan Ramon shared two original compositions and spoke about his father.
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Stunning, full color photo book covering every east coast launch spanning 2014-2015, including the first-ever powered landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
More InfoRising above the Space Coast at the same time of the rising sun, the Atlas V rocket sent to orbit the top secret NRO USSF-51 satellite for the United States Space Force
