On its ninth Commercial Resupply Services mission, NASA provider SpaceX is scheduled to hand over crew supplies, hardware and deliver scientific research to the International Space Station. The launch is scheduled to take place on July 18, Monday.
The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft would lift off on NASA's Falcon 9 rocket at 12:45 a.m. The lift off is scheduled to take place from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
According to reports, the coverage will begin at 11:30 p.m. on July 17, Sunday. Within approximately 10 minutes of the launch, the Dragon cargo spacecraft would reach the preliminary orbit and deploy its solar arrays. It would take a two-days journey for the spacecraft to reach the International Space Station.
Once the Dragon reaches the space station, NASA astronaut Jeff Williams would use the station's robotic arm to fetch the spacecraft. Another NASA astronaut named Kate Rubins would act as a backup to Williams. The controllers on the ground would facilitate the entire process by sending commands for the robotic arm to install Dragon cargo.
The live coverage of the entire rendezvous is expected to start at 5:30 a.m. on July 20, Wednesday. The installation coverage would start at 9:45 a.m.
On July 21, the Expedition 48 crew will put a pressure on the vestibule between the Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station. The hatch between the two will be opened and the five-week program of cargo unloading would finally begin.
The process is expected to unload almost 4,900 pounds of supplies. In addition, the cargo supposed to be sent back on Earth would be reloaded aboard Dragon spacecraft, which is scheduled to return to Earth on August 29. The cargo that will arrive on Earth includes the first of two international docking adapters.
