SpaceX CRS-3 will be the fifth flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft, the fourth overall flight[citation needed] for the company's two-stage Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle, and the third SpaceX operational mission contracted to NASA under a Commercial Resupply Services contract. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than late November 2013.[1]
Launch schedule history[edit]
The launch was originally scheduled by NASA, as of November 2012[update], to be no earlier than 30 September 2013, with docking to the station occurring three days later on 2 October 2013.[4]
As of 16 March 2013 (2013-03-16)[update], the launch is scheduled for no earlier than 28 November 2013, with docking to the station occurring three days later on 1 December 2013.[1]
Primary payload[edit]
NASA has contracted for the CRS-3 mission and therefore determines the primary payload. Among other NASA cargo, the SpaceX CRS-3 mission will be carrying an instrument to the Space Station called Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS), which will demonstrate high-bandwidth space to ground laser communications.[5][6]
Secondary payload[edit]
In addition to the primary payload, a Dragon cargo capsule resupply space transport mission to the ISS, the CRS-3 Falcon 9 mission will deploy the KickSat CubeSat which will further deploy 250 cracker-sized[7] Sprite picosatellites.[8]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
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