SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - Crew-3 or USCV-3 - Launching November 10/11, 2021
Screenshot from SpaceX Webcast of the launch of Dragon Crew-3 - USCV-3
Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 - Crew-3
Written: July 30, 2021
It’s Our turn to get stuck in this Dragon
SpaceX successfully launched four more astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) in the Crew Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. The rocket took off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A), Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on November 11, 2021 at 02:03 UTC and docked to the ISS IDA-2/PMA-2 21.5 hours later at 23:32 UTC. This mission marks the first flight of the Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft.
The rocket was initially scheduled for a Halloween lift off on October 31, however this was moved to November 3 due to weather concerns in the launch ascent corridor. A minor medical issue involving one of the Crew-3 astronauts then caused the launch to be pushed to November 6. The launch was once again delayed on November 6 and 7 due to unfavorable weather conditions, but the rocket finally launched on November 8.
Crew-2 and Crew-3 were meant to have an in-person handover of missions aboard the ISS, but the Crew-3 launch delays meant this could not happen. The Crew-2 crew returned to Earth on November 8 aboard the Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.
Crew-3 is the third regular crew rotation mission to the ISS to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Crew Dragon Endurance C210-1 carried four astronauts to the station where they will stay for six months.
Crew-3 will join the MS-19 cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov, Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, bringing the total crew members aboard to the station to seven. It’s European Space Agency tradition to give names to their astronauts’ individual missions, so Maurer’s portion of the mission is named “Cosmic Kiss.”
The Crew Dragon spacecraft being used on this mission is Crew Dragon C210-1, which has been given the name Endurance. This is the first flight of Endurance, and will be the first mission since Crew-1 in November 2020 to use a new Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The capsule was given the name in honor of the SpaceX and NASA teams who built the spacecraft and trained its astronauts in the face of a pandemic, and is also an homage to the ship used in Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.
Like the Space Shuttle before it, Crew Dragon is reusable – the first reusable human capsule launch and entry system in the world.
Since its inaugural flight, Dragon 2 has flown 11 times — 5 crewed and 6 uncrewed.
The booster supporting the Crew-3 mission is B1067-2, which previously flew on the CRS-22 mission in June 2021. As this is the booster’s second time to fly a mission, B1067 has been given the designation B1067-2. This was the third time a flight-proven booster was used to launch a Crew Dragon mission.
After the final static fire test at 05:41 EST on October 28, 2021 on Pad 39A and after the final check outs, the Falcon 9 rocket will be made ready for launch.
After liftoff, Falcon 9’s first stage will propel the astronauts for 2 minutes and 30 seconds to an altitude of around 75 km (~47 miles). After stage separation, Falcon 9’s second stage takes over for the second part of the flight.
Following the stage separation from 2nd stage and Endurance, the booster B1067-2 will conduct an atmosphere re-entry burn and a landing burn and will softly touch down on “A Shortfall Of Gravitas'' positioned 535 km downrange on the Atlantic Ocean.
Approximately 6 minutes and 7 seconds after second stage engine ignition the second stage engine will shut down (SECO-1) and the astronauts will be in orbit.
Endurance was inserted into an initial 190 x 210 km orbit, after which a series of phasing and rendezvous burns that will take place to bring the spacecraft Endurance to the Station for a docking on 19:32 EST (23:32 UTC) on Saturday, November 11.
3 minutes and 19 seconds after SECO, Crew Dragon will separate from the second stage and open up its nose cone in order to expose the 4 forward facing Draco thrusters.
Once the Draco thrusters are exposed, CREW-3 Dragon will perform a number of phasing burns to align its orbit with the ISS’ one. After the phasing burns, CREW-3 Dragon will slowly approach the ISS and with the start of proximity operations it will enter the ISS’ Keep Out Sphere.
Last but not least, after around 8 hours and 30 minutes, C210-1 Endurance with CREW-3 will autonomously dock to the nadir docking port. They should be called IDA-2 and IDA-3, since that is their built number. IDA-1 was lost during the CRS-7 inflight anomaly.
The Crew-3 Dragon Science Payload
Hundreds of experiments will be carried out by the Crew-3 astronauts on board the ISS, ranging from biomedical experiments to material science experiments to technology and artificial intelligence testing. This is a handful of the experiments that will be done during the Crew-3 mission.
The Cold Atoms Lab (CAL) is a NASA experiment facility in the Destiny module of the ISS, which will study ultra cold atoms and Bose-Einstein Condensates (BEC) in a microgravity environment for the first time. In CAL, a laser is used to cool clouds of rubidium and potassium atoms to near absolute zero, which are then confined using a magnetic field to create a BEC.
BECs act like a singular giant atom, so quantum phenomena can be seen on a macroscopic level. This means that experiments done in CAL can test theories within quantum physics, like the general theory of relativity. CAL will also aid in the development of integrated circuit technologies and highly precise clocks and sensors.
The Concrete-Hardening project will investigate how various concrete mixtures, which contain cement, sand or regolith, water, and other admixtures, harden in a microgravity environment. On Earth concrete solidification is influenced by gravity, as the highly dense components sink to the bottom, but this has not yet been tested in space. The data gathered from this research will help in developing new concrete mixtures which can be used as materials for building habitats on future Moon and Mars missions, as well as a more sustainable material for building housing on Earth.
The Thermo-Mini experiment. An extended stay in space has been shown to lead to a prolonged increase in the core temperature of the body, a phenomenon known as ‘space fever’. This could pose a risk to the health of astronauts, particularly when exercising or carrying out extravehicular activities (EVA).
The Thermo-Mini experiment will be carried out on ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer. A small thermal sensor will be strapped to his forehead to measure his core body temperature and measure his circadian rhythm.
The data gathered from this experiment will help researchers to better understand ‘space fever’ and show whether the Thermo-Mini sensor is appropriate for long-term use in future space missions. Back on Earth, a version of the Thermo-Mini could be used in hospitals or by those working in extreme environments.
The Cellbox-3 experiment will look at how our cells and these processes are affected by being in a microgravity environment on the ISS. Our cells and the processes taking place within them are affected by gravity.
3-D models of bone marrow and co-cultures in skeletal muscle cells and nerve cells will be used to study this. This research will benefit scientist’s understanding of blood formation within bone marrow, and the processes involved in supplying muscles with nerve cells. It is hoped that the results of these experiments will aid in the development of therapies for immune diseases and muscle weakness.
The Bioprint First Aid technology demonstration will look at the potential of using bio-ink for rapid wound treatment. The bio-ink will be printed by a bioprinter and then applied directly to the skin to treat superficial wounds.
In this experiment the ink will be composed of fluorescent micro-particles, but in the future, the bio-ink will be made of the patient’s own skin cells. Once on the skin it will cover the wound like a plaster and will speed up healing of the skin by encouraging the formation of skin tissue. It is hoped that this technology will not only be used during future space missions, but will also benefit humans back on Earth.
Later I found a more detailed source of a cargo manifest with, what I presume would be, crew supplies and science experiments in the fragile end.
The Dragon CREW-3
CREW-3 during dress rehearsal seated in the Crew Dragon “Endurance“. (Credit: SpaceX)
The Crew-3 is composed of three NASA astronauts and one ESA astronaut:
NASA astronaut Raja Chari was born June 24, 1977 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended the United States Air Force Academy, graduating in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in Astronautical Engineering and Engineering Science. He then went on to study at MIT, graduating with a master’s degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in 2001. Following this, Chari went to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School.
Chari was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22 in June 2017, alongside Crew-3 crew mate Kayla Barron.
In December 2020 it was announced that Chari had been selected as a member of the Artemis team, the group of astronauts eligible for the Artemis Moon missions.
Later in the same month he was selected for his first mission to space, as the commander of Crew-3. This will be the first time a NASA rookie will have served as a commander since Gerald Carr commanded the Skylab 4 mission in 1973.
NASA astronaut Thomas Marshburn was born on August 29, 1960 in Statesville, North Carolina. Marshburn holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Davidson College, a master’s degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Virginia, a doctorate in Medicine from Wake Forest University, and a second master’s degree in Medical Science from the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Before becoming an astronaut, Marshburn was a NASA flight surgeon, working on the Space Shuttle Medical Operations team and the joint U.S./Russian Space Program, before becoming the Medical Operations Lead for the International Space Station.
Marshburn was selected as a NASA astronaut in May 2004. He first flew on the Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-127 mission in 2009, and later flew aboard a Soyuz for Expedition 34/35 in 2012.
Crew-3 will be Marshburn’s third space flight, and at 61 years old, this flight will make him the third oldest astronaut to go to orbit onboard three spacecraft – Space Shuttle Endeavour, Soyuz (TMA-07M), and Crew Dragon Endurance.
NASA astronaut Kayla Barron was born on September 19, 1987 in Pocatello, Idaho. Barron graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2010, with a bachelor’s degree in Systems Engineering. Following this she studied at the University of Cambridge, gaining a master’s degree in Nuclear Engineering.
Post graduation, Barron was selected to be in the first group of women to be submarine warfare officers. Following her attendance at the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power and submarine officer training, she was assigned to the USS Maine. Prior to her astronaut selection Barron was Flag Aide to the Superintendent at the Naval Academy.
Barron was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 22 in June 2017 and will make her first journey to space as a member of Crew-3. Like fellow Crew-3 member Chari, Barron has been selected as a member of the Artemis team.
ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer was born on March 18, 1970 in St. Wendel, Germany. Maurer worked as a paramedic for the Malteser Emergency Service as part of his compulsory civilian service. Following this he studied Materials Science and Technology at Saarland University, Germany; University of Leeds, UK; the European School for Materials Technology EEIGM/INPL Nancy, France; and UPC Barcelona, Spain.
Maurer continued to study, graduating with a doctorate in Engineering from the Institute of Materials Sciences of the RWTH Aachen University in 2004. After this he embarked on a long term journey around the world.
Having joined the ESA astronaut corps in 2015, this will be Maurer’s first journey to space. Prior to his Crew-3 assignment, Maurer managed the development of Luna, a new ESA moon simulation facility, in Cologne, Germany.
Where to land the Dragon?
The opportunity for CREW-3 to return to Earth has finally been determined since they are still in orbit on ISS and docked to IDA-2 airlock.
Seven hazard areas for landing Dragon C210-1 - Recovery Location 4 Tampa has been chosen
NASA’s SpaceX CREW-3 mission now is targeting a return to Earth no earlier than 00:43 EST - 05:43 UTC on Friday, May 6.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 01:05 EST - 06:05 UTC Thursday, May 5, to begin the journey home.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft will aim for a splashdown at one of seven targeted landing zones in the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. Recovery is the splashdown zone 4 Tampa in the Gulf of Mexico.
Endurance will after the trunk is jettisoned perform its deorbit burn at 23:53 EST - 04:53 UTC and close the nose hatch cover. Then Endurance will reorient itself with its heat shield forward and enter the Earth's atmosphere.
Four minutes before splashdown, the drogue parachutes will deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 350 miles per hour, and less than a minute later, the main parachutes deploy at about 6,000 feet in altitude while the spacecraft is moving approximately 119 miles per hour.
For normal crew rescue and recovery operations, the NASA and SpaceX teams select two primary splashdown locations from the seven possible locations about two weeks prior to return, with additional decision milestones taking place prior to crew boarding the spacecraft, during free flight, and before Crew Dragon performs a deorbit burn.
The SpaceX recovery fleet should be up to the task again with another pair of close LZ’s.
NASA and SpaceX closely coordinate with the U.S. Coast Guard to establish a 10-nautical-mile safety zone around the expected splashdown location to ensure safety for the public and for those involved in the recovery operations, as well as the crew aboard the returning spacecraft.
The return will mark the end of the second crew rotation mission to the International Space Station of the Crew Dragon spacecraft developed in partnership between NASA and SpaceX as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
Teams on the Go Navigator or other available recovery ships, including two fast boats, will be securing CREW-3 Dragon and ensuring the spacecraft is safe for the recovery effort. As the fast boat teams complete their work, the recovery ship will move into position to hoist Crew Dragon onto the main deck of the ship with the astronauts inside.
Once on the main deck, the crew will be taken out of the spacecraft and receive medical checks before a helicopter ride to Pensacola to board a plane for Houston. Endurance will also return important and time-sensitive research samples.
The discarded Dragon trunk from the Crew-3 mission, jettisoned on May 6, has now been cataloged in a 210 x 394 km x 51.3 deg orbit. 15 days later it reentered at 03:48 UTC May 21 (8:48 pm PDT Saturday evening) over the Vancouver/Calgary area.
The low apogee of 210 km in this orbit must have been the contributing factor in deorbiting the Dragon trunk section so fast. It is after all a BIG barrel or dustbin, so maybe it should be rebuilt as a space debris hunter gatherer collecting space junk.
Hmm. How can that come about? Hall Effect Ion thrusters? Pincers? Radar?
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