NASA and SpaceX are targeting 8:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, March 14, to launch the company’s 27th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 39A at the NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch timing is dependent upon the undocking and return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-5.
Live launch coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, March 13. Follow all events at:
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew, including NASA’s HUNCH Ball Clamp Monopod, a student manufactured project that can make filming in space easier, and the JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Tanpopo-5 investigation which studies the origin, transportation, and survival of life in space and on extraterrestrial planets.
Dragon will also deliver the final two experiments from the National Institutes for Health and International Space Station National Laboratory’s Tissue Chips in Space initiative. Both studies, Cardinal Heart 2.0 and Engineered Heart Tissues-2, use small devices containing living cells that mimic functions of human tissues and organs to advance the development of treatments for cardiac dysfunction.
Arrival to the station is scheduled for 7:07 a.m. EDT on Thursday, March 16. The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.
Dragon is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
The deadline has passed for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch. The agency’s media accreditation policy is available online. More information about media accreditation is available by emailing: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):
Monday, March 13
8 p.m. – Prelaunch media teleconference (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) with the following participants:
- Phil Dempsey, transportation integration manager, International Space Station Program
- Dr. Meghan Everett, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program Research Office
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Mike McAleenen, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, March 13, at: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Tuesday, March 14
11 a.m. – Science media teleconference with the following participants:
- Dr. Meghan Everett, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program Research Office
- Shane Johnson, former HUNCH student and current research assistant at the University of Texas at Austin, who will discuss the HUNCH Ball Clamp Monopod experiment
- Dr. Mita Hajime, professor at the Fukuoka Institute of Technology and principal investigator for the Tanpopo-5 experiment
- Dr. Ralf Moeller, microbiologist at the German Aerospace Center in Cologne, Germany, and principal investigator of the BIOFILMS study
- Devin Mair, Johns Hopkins university doctoral candidate, who will discuss Engineered Heart Tissues-2
- Dr. Dilip Thomas, post-doctoral researcher at the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, who will discuss the Cardinal Heart 2.0 investigation
- Logan Torres, engineer at IRPI in Wilsonville, Oregon, who will discuss the CapiSorb Visible System study
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:
Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, please email Lora Bleacher no later than 8 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 14 at: lora.v.bleacher@nasa.gov.
8 p.m. – NASA TV launch coverage begins
8:30 p.m. – Launch
Thursday, March 16
5:30 a.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for Dragon docking to space station
7:07 a.m. – Docking
Coverage is subject to change based on real-time operational activities. Follow the International Space Station blog for updates.
NASA launch coverage
Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, or -7135. On launch day, the full mission broadcast can be heard on -1220 and -1240, while the countdown net only can be heard on -7135 beginning approximately one hour before the mission broadcast begins.
On launch day, a “tech feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.
NASA website launch coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, March 14, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on our launch blog for updates.
Attend launch virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. Registrants will receive mission updates and activities by email. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities, and a virtual guest passport stamp following a successful launch.
Watch, engage on social media
Let people know you’re following the mission on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #Dragon and #CRS27. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
Twitter: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, @ISS_Research@ISS National Lab
Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab
Learn more about NASA’s SpaceX commercial resupply missions at:
