Craft arrives at ISS following successful NASA/SpaceX launch
NewsAugust 16, 2017
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION. Experiments intended for astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) arrived early Wednesday morning, August 16, following launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft two days prior.
The spacecraft -- carrying over 6,400 pounds of research equipment, cargo, and supplies -- lifted off on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 14. The launch marked SpaceX's 12th commercial resupply mission. NASA astronaut Jack Fischer and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Paolo Nespoli captured the Dragon spacecraft at 6:52 a.m. EDT using the station’s robotic arm; the craft is set to be installed on the station’s Harmony module.
One of the experiments aboard the ISS is the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command (USASMDC/ARSTRAT) Technical Center's Kestrel Eye, which is a small, low-cost, visible-imagery satellite technology demonstrator, the size of a small refrigerator and weighing approximately 50 kg (approximately 110 pounds). When the Kestrel Eye is ultimately deployed from the ISS, it will provide electro-optical images supplying tactically useful resolution that will enable soldiers to task and receive data from the satellite as it passes overhead.
Watch the ISS mission at www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv.
