.jpg) The CRS-8 SpaceX Dragon captured by Canadarm on April 10, 2016 | |
| Names | SpX-8 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS resupply |
| Operator | SpaceX |
| COSPAR ID | 2016-024A |
| SATCATno. | 41452 |
| Mission duration | 32 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Dragon 1 C110 |
| Spacecraft type | Dragon 1 |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | April 8, 2016, 20:43 (2016-04-08UTC20:43) UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Full Thrust (B1021)[1] |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral,SLC-40 |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Recovered |
| Landing date | May 11, 2016, 18:31 (2016-05-11UTC18:32) UTC[2] |
| Landing site | Pacific Ocean[2] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Periapsis altitude | 402 km (250 mi) |
| Apoapsis altitude | 405 km (252 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.64 degrees |
| Period | 92.63 minutes |
| Epoch | May 10, 2016, 13:19:38 UTC |
| Berthing atISS | |
| Berthing port | Harmony nadir |
| RMS capture | April 10, 2016, 11:23 UTC[3] |
| Berthing date | April 10, 2016, 13:57 UTC[3] |
| Unberthing date | May 11, 2016, 11:00 UTC[4] |
| RMS release | May 11, 2016, 13:19 UTC[3] |
| Time berthed | 30 days, 21 hours, 3 minutes |
| Cargo | |
| Mass | 3,136 kg (6,914 lb) |
| Pressurised | 1,723 kg (3,799 lb) |
| Unpressurised | 1,413 kg (3,115 lb) |
 NASA SpX-8 mission patch ← OA-6 | |
SpaceX CRS-8, also known asSpX-8,[5] was aCommercial Resupply Service mission to theInternational Space Station (ISS) which was launched on April 8, 2016, at 20:43 UTC. It was the23rd flight of aFalcon 9 rocket, the tenth flight of aDragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted toSpaceX byNASA under theCommercial Resupply Services program.[6] The capsule carried over 3,100 kilograms (6,800 lb) of cargo to the ISS including theBigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototypeinflatable 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.[7]
After boosting the payload on itsorbital trajectory, the rocket's first stage re-entered thedenser layers of the atmosphere and landed vertically on the ocean landing platformOf Course I Still Love You nine minutes after liftoff, achieving a long-sought-after milestone inSpaceX reusable launch system development program.[8]
The recovered Falcon 9 first stage (B1021) from this mission became the first one to be flown again, launching theSES-10 satellite on March 30, 2017.[9]
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The launch was initially scheduled by NASA to occur no earlier than September 2, 2015. The launch date went under review pending the outcome of the analysis of the failure of theFalcon 9 launch vehicle inSpaceX CRS-7, a June 2015 flight. Thereturn-to-flight (RTF) project included additional improvements.[10]
With additional manifest changes announced by SpaceX in mid-October, CRS-8 was scheduled to be the third launch of the upgradedFalcon 9 Full Thrust rocket.[11] By March 2016, the launch date was set to April 8, 2016, with 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 theorbital parameters for the primary payload – the Dragonspace 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 theBigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which is expected to remain on the station for at least five more full years of observation and testing.[6][12] Also delivered in the Dragon were sixteenFlock 2d3U CubeSats for the Earth-observing Flock constellation, built and operated byPlanet Labs, which will be deployed by theNanoRacks CubeSat Deployer.[13]
After splashdown, the mission returned more than 3,700 lb (1,700 kg) of cargo from the station back to Earth.[3]
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After placing the CRS-8 cargo on its way to theInternational Space Station, thefirst stage of the Falcon 9 rocket conducted anexperimental boostback and re-entry maneuver over the Atlantic Ocean. Nine minutes after liftoff, at 20:52:10 UTC, the boosterlanded vertically on theautonomous spaceport drone shipOf Course I Still Love You, 300 kilometers (190 mi) from the Florida coastline, achieving a long-sought-after milestone for theSpaceX reusable launch system development program.[8]
This was the second successful landing achieved by a SpaceXorbital launch vehicle and the first vertical landing by any organization on afloating platform. SpaceX first landed aFalcon 9 onsolid ground atCape Canaveral withflight 20 on December 22, 2015.[8]
The drone ship carried the stage toPort Canaveral,Florida, arriving on April 12, 2016 (UTC),[14] where it was offloaded. SpaceX plans to keep this first stage in Cape Canaveral and conduct a series of test fires to ensure that the vehicle is ready for a future operational mission.[15] According to SpaceX CEOElon Musk, the rocket will likely be test-fired atKennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39.[16] Musk noted that assuming the test fires went well, the stage would likely be reflown for a mission in June 2016.[16]
The first stage of the CRS-8 launch was selected to be reflown first,[17] in early 2017.[18][19] Additional tests were conducted prior to SpaceX certifying the stage's suitability for reuse on subsequent launch.[20] On January 31, 2017, SpaceX posted a photo of a static fire test of this stage in Texas.[21] It was launched again on March 30, 2017, as part of Falcon 9 Flight 32 carrying theSES-10 communications satellite. The stage was also recovered a second time after landing on the drone shipOf Course I Still Love You.[22]
As part of a multi-month multi-vehicle test process to reuse Falcon 9 boosters, another first stage — from flight 24 which carriedJCSAT-14 — was designated a "reference vehicle" for further testing, because it encountered "extreme temperatures during itsreentry into Earth atmosphere" in May 2016 from a more energeticGTO trajectory. This booster underwent a series of tests, including a 150-second full-duration engine firing which was completed on July 28, 2016.[20]
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