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39-626: SpaceX CRS-8 , also known as SpX-8 , was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched on April 8, 2016, at 20:43 UTC. It was the 23rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket, the tenth flight of a Dragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted to SpaceX by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program. The capsule carried over 3,100 kilograms (6,800 lb) of cargo to

78-466: A Dragon capsule's ability to remain in orbit, receive and respond to ground commands, and communicate with NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System . On 15 August 2011, SpaceX announced that NASA had combined the objectives of the COTS Demo Flight 2 and following Flight 3 into a single mission. The rescoped COTS Demo Flight 2 successfully launched on 22 May 2012, delivering cargo to

117-459: A backup launch window the next day. The spacecraft was finally launched on schedule, at 20:43 UTC on April 8, 2016. The rocket first stage separated around 2 minutes 40 seconds after liftoff, and the second stage separated around ten minutes 30 seconds after liftoff. NASA has contracted for the CRS-8 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the orbital parameters for the primary payload –

156-533: A combined, not-to-exceed value of $ 14 billion. NASA officials explained that selecting three companies rather than two for CRS-2 increases cargo capabilities and ensures more redundancy in the event of a contractor failure or schedule delay. The CRS-2 flights commenced in November 2019 with the launch of Cygnus NG-12 mission. Inside-cargo is typically transported to and from the space station in "the form factor of single Cargo Transfer Bag Equivalent (CTBE) [which

195-572: A competitive range determination to remove Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Orbital ATK (later purchased by Northrop Grumman), Sierra Nevada, and SpaceX were awarded CRS-2 contracts in January 2016 with initial task orders awarded in June 2016. Each of the three companies is guaranteed at least six cargo missions under the CRS-2 contract. As of December 2017, NASA had awarded $ 2.6 billion on three contracts with

234-547: A floating landing platform in 2016, and has been reusing boosters routinely since 2017, with most of the recovered boosters landing on a platform at sea. After attempts to land orbital rocket booster stages by parachute failed in the late 2000s, SpaceX began to develop reusable technology in the early 2010s, when they contracted with a Louisiana shipyard to build a floating landing platform to land their launch vehicles . The platform had an approximately 90 by 50 meters (300 ft × 160 ft) landing pad surface and

273-626: A propulsive landing on the platform. In the early decades of spaceflight technology, all orbital launch vehicle operations were exclusively from land, and all booster stages were expended after a single use for nearly 60 years after the first orbital spaceflight, Sputnik 1 . After the late 1990s and into the 2010s, new marine options for launch were built. Landing of orbital-class boosters began to be accomplished in 2015. More platforms, both for launch and landing, are currently in construction or planned. Suborbital rockets and ballistic missiles had been launched from marine platforms earlier than

312-510: A result Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Northrop Grumman was left with only two remaining Antares 230+ launch vehicles which were used for the CRS NG-18 and CRS NG-19 missions. Northrop Grumman acquired three flights from SpaceX with the Falcon 9 rocket while a replacement first stage and its engine are developed for its Antares 330 rocket. Northrop Grumman plans to launch further missions using

351-462: A ship in 2019. It was unclear if the shipboard launch was a special demonstration mission, or if China was putting a new launch service provider capability into place. All early orbital launch vehicle stages were expended , the booster stages were destroyed when re-entering the atmosphere or on impact with the ground or ocean. After over four years of research and technology development , SpaceX first landed Falcon 9 boosters on land in 2015, on

390-408: Is 18 m (60 ft) and must not only land within the 52 m (170 ft)-wide barge deck, but must also deal with ocean swells and GPS errors . SpaceX CEO Elon Musk first displayed a photograph of the newly designated " autonomous spaceport drone ship " in November 2014. The ship is designed to hold position to within 3 meters (9.8 ft), even under storm conditions. On 8 April 2016,

429-613: Is considerably less. CRS-2 launches commenced in 2019 and will extend to at least 2024. Three more CRS-2 missions for Dragon 2 covering up to CRS-29 were announced in December 2020. When NASA issued the Commercial Resupply Services phase 2 (CRS-2) request for proposal (RFP) in September 2014, it received interest from five companies: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Orbital ATK, Sierra Nevada, and SpaceX. NASA made

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468-470: Is the] unit for size of bag used to transport cargo from visiting vehicles , such as SpaceX Dragon , Northrop Grumman Cygnus , or JAXA H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). The bags are sized at 48 cm × 41 cm × 23 cm (19 in × 16.25 in × 9 in) and limited in transport mass to 27 kg (60 lb) each. CTBE units are also used to price, and charge, commercial users of US Orbital Segment stowage space. As

507-547: The Automated Transfer Vehicle , to be jointly developed with Thales Alenia Space . Three companies were awarded contracts on January 14, 2016. Sierra Nevada Corporation 's Dream Chaser , the SpaceX Dragon 2 , and Orbital ATK Cygnus were selected, each for a minimum of six launches. The maximum potential value of all the contracts was indicated to be $ 14 billion, but the minimum value

546-477: The SpaceX launch vehicles , with over 23 attempted and 17 successful recoveries. As of 2018 , Blue Origin was in development and intending to land the first stage boosters of New Glenn on a hydrodynamically-stabilized ship . They purchased a ship that had been built in 2004 as a roll-on/roll-off cargo ship to begin refit and testing. with the goal to make the booster stages reusable . The moving ship idea

585-441: The 1990s, but are not the topic of this article. Both floating launch platform and floating landing platforms have been placed into use by orbital launch service providers as of 2020. Additionally, at least two new rocket landing platforms and one new launch platform are under construction as of 2020. There are currently at least five instances of marine launch or landing platforms for orbital launch vehicles : In addition to

624-698: The 2000s funding was authorized for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, followed by the Commercial Crew Development program. On 23 December 2008, NASA announced the initial awarding of cargo contracts - twelve flights to SpaceX and eight flights to Orbital Sciences Corporation . PlanetSpace , which was not selected, submitted a protest to the Government Accountability Office . On 22 April 2009,

663-540: The Atlantic Ocean. Nine minutes after liftoff, at 20:52:10 UTC, the booster landed vertically on the autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You , 300 kilometers (190 mi) from the Florida coastline, achieving a long-sought-after milestone for the SpaceX reusable launch system development program . This was the second successful landing achieved by a SpaceX orbital launch vehicle and

702-612: The Dragon space capsule . The mission delivered 3,136 kilograms (6,914 lb) of supplies, experiments, and hardware to the ISS. These include the station's first expandable module, called the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which is expected to remain on the station for at least five more full years of observation and testing. Also delivered in the Dragon were sixteen Flock 2d 3U CubeSats for

741-526: The Dream Chaser spaceplane itself. Boeing's proposal likewise used a cargo version of its CST-100 crew vehicle. Lockheed Martin proposed a new cargo spacecraft called Jupiter , derived from the designs of the NASA's MAVEN and Juno spacecraft. It would have included a robotic arm based on Canadarm technology and a 4.4-meter (14 ft) diameter cargo transport module called Exoliner based on

780-598: The Earth-observing Flock constellation, built and operated by Planet Labs , which will be deployed by the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer . After splashdown, the mission returned more than 3,700 lb (1,700 kg) of cargo from the station back to Earth. After placing the CRS-8 cargo on its way to the International Space Station , the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket conducted an experimental boostback and re-entry maneuver over

819-450: The GAO publicly released its decision to deny the protest, allowing the program to continue. The Antares and Falcon 9 launch vehicles and Cygnus and Dragon cargo spacecraft were developed using Space Act Agreements under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The first flight contracted by NASA, COTS Demo Flight 1 , took place on 8 December 2010, demonstrating

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858-430: The ISS including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototype inflatable space habitat delivered in the vehicle's trunk, which was attached to the station and, as of May 2022, is expected to remain so for five more full years of in-orbit viability tests. After boosting the payload on its orbital trajectory, the rocket's first stage re-entered the denser layers of the atmosphere and landed vertically on

897-668: The ISS. The spacecraft reentered on 31 May, landed in the Pacific Ocean, and was recovered, completed CRS certification requirements. Orbital Sciences first launched the Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on 21 April 2013 with a test payload. Orbital Sciences completed the Cygnus Orb-D1 demonstration flight on 29 September 2013, and the operational Cygnus CRS Orb-1

936-457: The first stage of the rocket that launched the Dragon 1  C110 spacecraft ahead of CRS-8 , successfully landed on the drone ship named Of Course I Still Love You, the first successful landing of a rocket booster on a floating platform. By early 2018, SpaceX had two operational drone ships and had a third under construction. By September 2018, sea platform landings had become routine for

975-477: The first vertical landing by any organization on a floating platform . SpaceX first landed a Falcon 9 on solid ground at Cape Canaveral with flight 20 on December 22, 2015. The drone ship carried the stage to Port Canaveral , Florida , arriving on April 12, 2016 (UTC), where it was offloaded. SpaceX plans to keep this first stage in Cape Canaveral and conduct a series of test fires to ensure that

1014-426: The historical and current platforms, other entities have considered utilizing a floating landing platform. Orbital launch platforms were initially modified ships, but specific platforms were later produced specifically to be orbital launch vessels. The concept was pioneered in the late 1990s by a US, Russian, Norwegian and Ukrainian commercial consortium. The Chinese space agency did their first orbital launch from

1053-486: The introduction of a larger Enhanced Cygnus, enabled Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation by OA-7. During August 2015, Orbital ATK disclosed that they had received an extension of the resupply program for four extra missions. These flights enable NASA to cover ISS resupply needs until CRS-2 begins. NASA began a formal process to initiate Phase 2 of the Commercial Resupply Services, or CRS-2, in early 2014. Later that year, an "Industry Day"

1092-623: The new Antares 300 series (Antares 330) rockets with booster stage and engines developed by Firefly Aerospace . These missions are also slated to use a new enlarged "Mission B" variant of the Cygnus spacecraft. Floating landing platform A floating launch vehicle operations platform is a marine vessel used for launch or landing operations of an orbital launch vehicle by a launch service provider : putting satellites into orbit around Earth or another celestial body, or recovering first-stage boosters from orbital-class flights by making

1131-521: The ocean landing platform Of Course I Still Love You nine minutes after liftoff, achieving a long-sought-after milestone in SpaceX reusable launch system development program . The recovered Falcon 9 first stage ( B1021 ) from this mission became the first one to be flown again, launching the SES-10 satellite on March 30, 2017. The launch was initially scheduled by NASA to occur no earlier than September 2, 2015. The launch date went under review pending

1170-520: The outcome of the analysis of the failure of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle in SpaceX CRS-7 , a June 2015 flight. The return-to-flight (RTF) project included additional improvements. With additional manifest changes announced by SpaceX in mid-October, CRS-8 was scheduled to be the third launch of the upgraded Falcon 9 Full Thrust rocket. By March 2016, the launch date was set to April 8, 2016, with

1209-566: The stage's suitability for reuse on subsequent launch. On January 31, 2017, SpaceX posted a photo of a static fire test of this stage in Texas. It was launched again on March 30, 2017, as part of Falcon 9 Flight 32 carrying the SES-10 communications satellite. The stage was also recovered a second time after landing on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You . As part of a multi-month multi-vehicle test process to reuse Falcon 9 boosters, another first stage — from flight 24 which carried JCSAT-14 —

SpaceX CRS-8 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-433: The vehicle is ready for a future operational mission. According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk , the rocket will likely be test-fired at Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 . Musk noted that assuming the test fires went well, the stage would likely be reflown for a mission in June 2016. The first stage of the CRS-8 launch was selected to be reflown first, in early 2017. Additional tests were conducted prior to SpaceX certifying

1287-454: Was abandoned before development was complete and the ship was scrapped in 2022. The replacement design by Blue Origin was to refit a barge, similar but larger than the SpaceX droneship barges, for use as a landing platform. Landing Platform Vessel 1 (LPV-1), formerly known as DAMEN MANGALIA 522520 , is also known by Blue Origin as Jacklyn , the same name as its predecessor ship that

1326-517: Was capable of precision positioning with diesel-powered azimuth thrusters so the platform can hold its position for launch vehicle landing. This platform was first deployed in January 2015 when SpaceX attempted a controlled descent flight test to land the first stage of Falcon 9 flight 14 on a solid surface after it was used to loft a contracted payload toward Earth orbit. The platform utilizes GPS position information to navigate and hold its precise position. The rocket landing leg span

1365-896: Was designated a "reference vehicle" for further testing, because it encountered "extreme temperatures during its reentry into Earth atmosphere " in May 2016 from a more energetic GTO trajectory. This booster underwent a series of tests, including a 150-second full-duration engine firing which was completed on July 28, 2016. Commercial Resupply Services The first phase of CRS contracts (CRS-1) were signed in 2008 and awarded $ 1.6 billion to SpaceX for twelve Dragon 1 and $ 1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for eight Cygnus flights, covering deliveries to 2016. The first operational resupply missions were flown by SpaceX in 2012 ( CRS SpX-1 ) and Orbital in 2014 ( CRS Orb-1 ). In 2015, NASA extended CRS-1 to twenty flights for SpaceX and twelve flights for Orbital ATK . A second phase of contracts ( CRS-2 )

1404-617: Was held in Houston, with seven high-level requirements disclosed to interested parties. The contracts were expected to include a variety of requirements: CRS-1 contractors Orbital Sciences and SpaceX each submitted CRS-2 proposals, joined by Sierra Nevada , Boeing , and Lockheed Martin . SNC's proposal would use a cargo version of its Dream Chaser crew vehicle, the 'Dream Chaser Cargo System'. The proposed cargo Dream Chaser included an additional expendable cargo module for uplift and trash disposal. Downmass would only be provided via

1443-454: Was launched 9 January 2014. Transport flights began under Commercial Resupply Services phase 1 (CRS-1) in 2012: Following the failure, the Antares 230 system was upgraded with newly built RD-181 first-stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability. The next two spacecraft were launched on the Atlas V . With the switch to more powerful launch vehicles and

1482-678: Was scrapped. LPV-1 arrived in Port Canaveral in September 2024, and is expected to be used to recover launched boosters on the Atlantic Ocean , downrange of the Blue Origin Florida launch facility , beginning in 2025. Floating platforms have the benefit of being able to receive or launch space launch vehicles out on the open ocean to keep the operation away from populated areas, for reasons of safety. Floating launch platforms can be moved substantial distances across

1521-530: Was solicited in 2014. CRS-2 contracts were awarded in January 2016 to Orbital ATK’s continued use of Cygnus , Sierra Nevada Corporation ’s new Dream Chaser , and SpaceX’s new Dragon 2 , for cargo transport flights beginning in 2019 and expected to last through 2024. NASA has been directed to pursue commercial spaceflight options since at least 1984, with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 and Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990. By

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