From Space Florida's International Space Station Research Competition (ISSRC), 4 of the 7 winners launched to space on +SpaceX's Falcon 9 inside the Dragon capsule on the Commercial Resupply Services Mission 4 (CRS-4). The ISSRC flights were arranged in partnership with +NanoRacks. Photo highlights below include the final testing (9/16) and handover (9/17) of SyNRGE^3; a press conference for teams to present their work to the media (9/18) and a reception with +Made In Space (9/19), both of which I organized; and then the launch viewing attempts (one scrub 9/20 and then the launch 9/21). The video I shot with my iPhone is at the end of the post. What a great experience! Sleep was a luxury that I didn't have during the week, but it was a thrill to help launch science to the ISS. In the middle of this madness, I also ran an Egg-Drop activity for kids at +NASA Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex for the NASA Family Education Night. To learn more about the ISSRC winning teams please visit: http://www.spaceflorida.gov/iss-research-competition/issrc-teams
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| The second of three launches in the program. |
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| Gary and Adam triple test everything before flight of SyNRGE^3 from +Limerick Institute of Technology and +CSS-Dynamac in the Space Life Sciences Lab in Exploration Park. |
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| Emotional euphoria moment when Module 28 (SyNRGE^3) is handed over from Gary to +NanoRacks in the Space Life Sciences Lab in Exploration Park. |
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| Josh Colwell from the University of Central Florida presenting his NanoRocks payload to the other winners and the media in the Space Life Sciences Lab in Exploration Park. |
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| Steve Vasile from Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute presenting his micro-gRx payload to the other winners and the media in the Space Life Sciences Lab in Exploration Park. |
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| Akram Amin Abdellatif from +DLR, German Aerospace Center and Technische Universität München presenting his EGAHEP payload to the other winners and the media in the Space Life Sciences Lab in Exploration Park. |
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| 2-time Shuttle Astronaut Prof. Sam Durrance from +Florida Institute of Technology presenting his SABOL payload to the other winners and the media in the Space Life Sciences Lab in Exploration Park. |
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| +Jason Dunn from +Made In Space gives an excellent overview of the driving force behind the commercial company he co-founded and why they want to push additive manufacturing (3D printing) in space. Space Life Sciences Lab, Exploration Park. |
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| Gary Stutte, lead PI of SyNRGE^3 conducting an interview with Spaceflight Insider behind the looking glass in the Space Life Sciences Lab, Exploration Park. |
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| Space Florida, +NanoRacks and +Made In Space hosted a reception for CRS-4 at Bacchae Wine Bar, Cape Canaveral. |
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| +Made In Space relaxing and playing CAH at the reception. |
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| VIPs are gathers in the early Saturday morning listening to the pre-flight briefing for CRS-4. Unfortunately the rocket launch was scrubbed due to a crazy rainstorm. |
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| CRS-4 launches! One of the brightest and loudest launches I've seen, probably because of the echo off the roof of OSB-II. We watched the entire engine burn on a very clear night. The distortion in the photo is from the humidity. This image is a composite of three 30-second exposures on top of a 30-second dark exposure. The purple was an artistic filter (blend mode: divide) with the first actual super-bright exposure used in the version below. |
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| An alternate version of the photo merge. Such a bright launch! |
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| Most of the gang gathers after the launch. It's 2am, but no one cares because we are all super happy of the successful launch into orbit! |
The official stats:
| Sept. 21 | Falcon 9 • SpaceX CRS 4 |
| Launch time: 0552:03 GMT (1:52:03 a.m. EDT) Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida  The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the sixth Dragon spacecraft on the fourth operational cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. The flight is being conducted under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Delayed from April 6, April 29, June 6, June 8, July 25, Aug. 8, Sept. 12 and Sept. 19. Scrubbed on Sept. 20 by bad weather. See our Mission Status Center. [Sept. 16] | |
Space!
Ryan
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