NASA Announces November 30 Launch Date

NASA has announced a launch date of November 30, 2011 for the next Falcon 9 mission, which should be followed nine days later by Dragon berthing at the ISS. Over the last several months, SpaceX has been hard at work preparing for the upcoming flight – a mission designed to demonstrate that a privately-developed space transportation system can deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA has agreed in principle to allow SpaceX to combine all of the tests and demonstration activities that were originally proposed as two separate missions (COTS Demo 2 and COTS Demo 3) into a single mission. Furthermore, SpaceX plans to carry additional payloads aboard the Falcon 9’s second stage which will deploy after Dragon separates and is well on its way to the ISS. NASA will grant formal approval for the combined COTS missions pending resolution of any potential risks associated with these secondary payloads. The SpaceX team continues to work closely with NASA to resolve all questions and concerns.

SpaceX says this next mission represents a huge milestone not only for SpaceX, but also for NASA and the US space program. When the astronauts stationed on the ISS open the hatch and enter the Dragon spacecraft for the first time, it will mark the beginning of a new era in space travel.

SpaceX Dragon Capsule Under Construction

Through continued private-public partnerships like the one that helped develop the Falcon 9 and Dragon system, commercial companies will transform the way space is accessed. Together, government and the private sector can simultaneously increase the reliability, safety and frequency of space travel, while greatly reducing the costs.

Over the course of the past week, SpaceX successfully completed a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) for the Falcon 9 Flight 3 launch vehicle at Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral, FL. The WDR is a significant test during which propellant is loaded into the vehicle and perform all operations as if it were launch day ... right down to T-1 seconds. At that point, the countdown is aborted, and the propellant is detanked.

SpaceX COTS Second Stage Under Construction

Significant upgrades have been made to the launch pad to streamline the countdown. For example, new liquid oxygen (LOX) pumps have been installed that have reduced the previous loading time from 90 minutes to under 30. The long term goal is to have Falcon 9 going from hangar to liftoff in under an hour. This is no easy task for a vehicle with about the same takeoff weight as a fully loaded Boeing 747, but SpaceX officials say that if a 747 can do it reliably day after day, then Falcon 9 can too.

Meanwhile production of all parts for the following launch, Falcon 9 Flight 4 and its Dragon CRS-1 spacecraft, which should be the first commercial cargo resupply mission under NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program, are well underway. Significant additional tooling and automation with be added to the factory, with the goal being the capability of producing a Falcon 9 first stage or Falcon Heavy side booster every week and an upper stage every two weeks. Depending on demand, Dragon production is planned for a rate of one every six to eight weeks.

FMI: www.spacex.com