NASA Coverage Set For March 1 SpaceX Mission To Space Station

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Feb 22, 2013, 03:44 ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The second SpaceX mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract is scheduled to launch Friday, March 1, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA Television coverage begins at 8:30 a.m. EST.

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The company's Falcon 9 rocket carrying its Dragon cargo capsule will lift off at 10:10 a.m. If needed, a backup launch opportunity is available on March 2 with launch time at 9:47 a.m. and NASA TV coverage beginning at 8 a.m.

The mission is the second of 12 SpaceX flights contracted by NASA to resupply the space station. It will mark the third trip by a Dragon capsule to the orbiting laboratory, following a demonstration flight in May 2012 and the first resupply mission in October 2012.

The capsule will be filled with more than 1,200 pounds of scientific experiments and cargo. It will remain attached to the space station's Harmony module for more than three weeks. The Dragon capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California on March 25, returning more than 2,300 pounds of experiment samples and equipment, which will be recovered for examination by scientists and engineers.

In advance of the launch, NASA will host a briefing on NASA's human deep space exploration progress at 2 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 27, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On Thursday, Feb. 28, NASA will host a mission science briefing at 1 p.m. and a prelaunch news conference at 3 p.m. All three briefings will be carried live on NASA TV and the agency's website.

Media may request accreditation to attend the prelaunch news conferences and launch by going online at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

The deadline for U.S. media to apply for accreditation is Feb. 25. The deadline has passed for international news media to apply.

Media credentials will be valid at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Johnson Space Center in Houston for mission activities from launch through splashdown.

For more information about media accreditation, call Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or 321-867-2468.

For an updated schedule of prelaunch briefings, events and NASA TV coverage times, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/13hO0IY

For NASA TV schedule and video streaming information, visit

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog and more information about the mission, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/spacex2

For more information about the International Space Station, research in low-Earth orbit, NASA's commercial space programs and the future of American spaceflight, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

SOURCE NASA