Liftoff! NASA’s SpaceX CRS-27 Resupply Mission en Route to Space Station

SpaceXCommonly known as SpaceX, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company that was founded by Elon Musk in 2002. Headquartered in Hawthorne, California, the company designs, manufactures, and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. SpaceX's ultimate goal is to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft – carrying several thousand pounds of critical science, hardware, and crew supplies – is on its way to the International Space Station (ISS) following a successful launch from NASAEstablished in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government that succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). It is responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. Its vision is "To discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity." Its core values are "safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence, and inclusion." NASA conducts research, develops technology and launches missions to explore and study Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond. It also works to advance the state of knowledge in a wide range of scientific fields, including Earth and space science, planetary science, astrophysics, and heliophysics, and it collaborates with private companies and international partners to achieve its goals.” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at 8:30 p.m. EDTEDT is an abbreviation for Eastern Daylight Time, the time zone for the eastern coast of the United States and Canada when observing daylight saving time (spring/summer). It is four hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, and the Kennedy Space Center are in the Eastern Time Zone (ET).” data-gt-translate-attributes=”[{“attribute”:”data-cmtooltip”, “format”:”html”}]”>EDT, beginning SpaceX’s 27th resupply services mission to the orbiting laboratory.

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s uncrewed Dragon spacecraft on top, lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida right on time, at 8:30 p.m. EDT. Credit: NASA

Dragon is now safely in orbit. A series of thruster firings will help Dragon reach the space station about 36 hours later. Upon its arrival, it will autonomously dock to the station’s Harmony module, with NASA astronaut Woody Hoburg monitoring operations. Live coverage of Dragon’s arrival will air on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency’s website beginning at 6:15 a.m. Thursday, March 16. Docking is scheduled for approximately 7:52 a.m.

In addition to delivering station supplies, fresh food, and hardware, Dragon also will deliver multiple science and research investigations, including the final two experiments of the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative. Both experiments – the Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2 – use small devices containing living cells that mimic functions of heart tissues and organs to understand the role of microgravity on human health and use this information to improve health on Earth.

Dragon will spend about a month attached to the space station before autonomously undocking and returning to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down in the off the coast of Florida.

Liftoff occurred at 8:30 p.m. EDT, as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rumbled off the pad at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This began Dragon’s two-day journey to the International Space Station.

Soon after, the nine Merlin engines in the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage finished their burn, and the first stage separated from the vehicle. A little more than five minutes later, as the second stage continued carrying Dragon on its journey, the Falcon 9 rocket’s first stage stuck the landing. It touched down successfully on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean. Today’s launch marked the seventh flight for this Falcon 9, and it is the second Dragon flight to the International Space Station this year – the first occurring just under two weeks ago.

Next, SpaceX’s uncrewed Dragon spacecraft separated from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage, as the spacecraft continues its journey to the International Space Station to deliver critical supplies, equipment, and material to support multiple science and research experiments that will take place aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Dragon is expected to arrive at the space station around 7:52 a.m. EDT Thursday, March 16, docking to the station’s Harmony port – recently vacated by SpaceX’s crewed Dragon, named Endurance, which returned NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5 crew members Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Koichi Wakata, and Anna Kikina to Earth on March 11.

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Fun Facts About This Launch

• This is the seventh flight of this SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
• Tonight’s launch marks SpaceX’s second Dragon launch of 2023 and the company’s 216th mission overall
• This is the third flight for this uncrewed Dragon spacecraft
• Teams plan to recover the Falcon 9’s first stage following its return to Earth – if successful, this will be the 178th recovery of an orbital class rocket
• Tonight’s recovery operations are being managed by an all-female crew stationed on SpaceX’s drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” off the coast of Florida