A Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket was successfully launched from the Cape Canaveral launch site on the coast of Florida at 0044 GMT on 15 July 2022. It was launching the Dragon CRS-25 freighter spacecraft mission, aka SpX-25 (Dragon C208 reusable craft on its third flight), carrying cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). The docking with ISS is scheduled for 1520 GMT on 16 July. Following stage separation Falcon 9’s reusable first stage, B1067 – on its fifth flight – landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship located downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch had been delayed from 11 July due to a leak on one of the spacecraft’s Draco thrusters.
According to the NASA manifest (via Jonathan McDowell and Gunter Krebs), there were six cubesats aboard being carried on a Nanoracks dispenser (NRCSD-23 mission): MIT’s BeaverCube, Weiss School’s CapSat-1, NASA-Ames’ CLICK A, Embry-Riddle’s D3, and University of South Alabama’s Jagsat and TUMnanoSAT (Technical University of Moldova Nano-Satellite) The cargo in the pressurised section, including food and supplies for the astronauts, had a mass of 2,124 kg.
Update on 18 July 2022: Dragon CRS-25 has docked with the IDA-2 adapter on the ISS at 1521 GMT on 16 July.
This story has been corrected to include the TUMnanoSAT on the listing.
Dragon CRS-15 is launched by a Falcon 9 towards the ISS. Courtesy: CC/KSC/Ben Cooper
Time lapse photo showing Falcon 9 launch of Dragon CRS-15 towards the ISS. Courtesy: CC/KSC/Ben Cooper
