Names | SpX-23 |
---|---|
Mission type | ISS resupply |
Operator | SpaceX |
COSPAR ID | 2021-078A |
SATCAT no. | 49117 |
Website | https://www.spacex.com/ |
Mission duration | 60 days (planned) |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | Cargo Dragon C208 |
Spacecraft type | Cargo Dragon |
Manufacturer | SpaceX |
Launch mass | 6,000 kg (13,000 lb) |
Dimensions | 8.1 m (27 ft) (height) 4 m (13 ft) (diameter) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 28 August 2021, 07:37 UTC (planned) [1] |
Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1061.4, B1063.3 or B1069.1) |
Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
Contractor | SpaceX |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
Inclination | 51.66° |
Docking with ISS | |
Docking port | Harmony forward[a] |
Docking date | 29 August 2021 |
SpaceX CRS-23 mission patch |
SpaceX CRS-23, also known as SpX-23, is a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station with a planned launch date of 28 August 2021.[1] The mission is contracted by NASA and will be flown by SpaceX using the Cargo Dragon C208. This will be the third flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2 contract awarded in January 2016.
A NASA Flight Planning Integration Panel (FPIP) from 2019 indicates that SpaceX cargo missions will begin to extend their duration to 60 days and beyond starting with CRS-23.[3]
SpaceX plans to reuse the Cargo Dragons up to five times. The Cargo Dragon will launch without SuperDraco abort engines, without seats, cockpit controls and the life support system required to sustain astronauts in space.[4][5] This newer design provides several benefits, including a faster process to recover, refurbish and re-fly versus the earlier Dragon CRS design used for ISS cargo missions.[6]
The new Cargo Dragon capsules under the NASA CRS Phase 2 contract will splash down under parachutes in the Atlantic Ocean, east of Florida, rather than the previous recovery zone in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California.[4][6]
NASA contracted for the CRS-23 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date of launch, and orbital parameters for the Cargo Dragon.[7][8]
This mission will also send a GITAI S1 Robotic Arm Tech Demo to the ISS that will carry out operations outside ISS and Intra-Vehicular Activity in the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock module. Nanoracks-GITAI Robotic Arm is the second robot that will be delivered to the ISS this year. The first one was the new European Robotic Arm (ERA) that was launched together with the Russian science module Nauka in July.
Designed by GITAI Japan Inc., the robot will work as a general-purpose helper under the pressurized environment inside the Bishop Airlock. It will operate tools and switches and run scientific experiments. The next step will be to test it outside the ISS in the harsh space environment. The robot will be able to perform tasks both autonomously and via teleoperations. Its arm has eight degrees of freedom and a 1-meter reach.
GITAI S1 is a semi-autonomous/semi-teleoperated robotic arm designed to conduct specified tasks internally & externally on space stations, on-orbit servicing, and lunar base development. By combining autonomous control via AI and teleoperations via the specially designed GITAI manipulation system H1, GITAI S1 on its own, possesses the capability to conduct generous-purpose tasks (manipulation of switches, tools, soft objects; conducting science experiments and assembly; high-load operations; etc.) that were extremely difficult for industrial robots such as task specific robotic arms to do.
The new experiments arriving at the orbiting laboratory will inspire future scientists and explorers, and provide valuable insight for researchers.
NASA Glenn Research Center studies: [9]
Student Spaceflight Experiments Program The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) has five experiments manifested:
Malta's First In Space
Orbit Your Thesis!: OSCAR-QUBE
CubeSats planned for this mission: