SpaceX Launch of NASA Cargo to Space Station Set for Friday, Spacewalk Wednesday


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[IN] ARO

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-- WITH PHOTO -- TO BUSINESS, NATIONAL, AND SCIENCE EDITORS:

SpaceX Launch of NASA Cargo to Space Station Set for Friday, Spacewalk

Wednesday

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA and SpaceX

are targeting a 3:25 p.m. EDT launch on Friday, April 18, of SpaceX's

third cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station from

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. NASA Television coverage

will begin at 2:15 p.m.

The company's April 14 launch to the orbiting laboratory was scrubbed

due to a helium leak in the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the

Dragon spacecraft to the space station.

Dragon is carrying to the space station almost 5,000 pounds of science

and research, crew supplies, vehicle hardware and spacewalk tools --

all to support the crew and more than 150 scientific investigations

planned for Expeditions 39 and 40. If needed, another launch attempt

will take place at 3:02 p.m. Saturday, April 19.

NASA Television coverage of Dragon's arrival at the space station will

begin at 5:45 a.m. Sunday, April 20. Expedition 39 Commander Koichi

Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will use the space

station's robotic arm to capture the spacecraft at approximately 7

a.m. NASA's Rick Mastracchio will support Wakata during the

rendezvous. NASA Television coverage will resume at 9:30 a.m., as the

Dragon is attached to the Earth-facing port of the space station's

Harmony module.

An April 18 launch will allow the space station program to plan for a

spacewalk on Wednesday, April 23, to replace a failed

multiplexer-demultiplexer (MDM) relay system. The prime MDM, which is

operating normally, and the failed backup computer provide commands to

some space station systems, including the external cooling system,

Solar Alpha Rotary joints and Mobile Transporter rail car.

A separate media advisory providing NASA TV coverage times for the

April 23 spacewalk will be issued at a later date.

For the latest information on the SpaceX mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacex

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information,

visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For the latest information on the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO

SOURCE NASA

-0- 04/16/2014

/CONTACT: Rachel Kraft, Headquarters, Washington, 202-358-1100, rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov; Dan Huot, Johnson Space Center, Houston, 281-483-5111, daniel.g.huot@nasa.gov; or Michael CurieKennedy Space Center, Fla., 321-867-2468, michael.curie@nasa.gov

/Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO

PRN Photo Desk photodesk@prnewswire.com

/Web Site: http://www.nasa.gov

CO: NASA; SpaceX

ST: District of Columbia

IN: ARO

SU: EXE

PRN

-- DC06856 --

0000 04/16/2014 16:13:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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