SpaceX CRS-7, also known as SpX-7, was a private American
Commercial Resupply Service mission to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
, contracted to
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
, which launched and failed on June 28, 2015. It disintegrated 139 seconds into the flight after launch from
Cape Canaveral, just before the first stage was to separate from the second stage. It was the ninth flight for
SpaceX's uncrewed
Dragon cargo spacecraft
Cargo spacecraft are robotic spacecraft that are designed to carry cargo, possibly to support space stations' operation by transporting food, propellant and other supplies. This is different from a space probe, whose missions are to conduct sci ...
and the seventh SpaceX operational mission contracted to NASA under a
Commercial Resupply Services
Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarde ...
contract. The vehicle launched on a
Falcon 9 v1.1
Falcon 9 v1.1 was the second version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 orbital launch vehicle. The rocket was developed in 2011–2013, made its maiden launch in September 2013, and its final flight in January 2016. The Falcon 9 rocket was fully designed ...
launch vehicle. It was the nineteenth overall flight for the
Falcon 9
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX.
The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and pay ...
and the fourteenth flight for the substantially upgraded Falcon 9 v1.1.
Launch history
![Falcon 9 carrying CRS-7 Dragon on SLC-40 pad (19045370790)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Falcon_9_carrying_CRS-7_Dragon_on_SLC-40_pad_%2819045370790%29.jpg)
In January 2015, the launch was tentatively scheduled by NASA for no earlier than June 13, 2015. This was adjusted to June 22, 2015, then moved forward to June 19, 2015, and adjusted again to June 26, 2015. Subsequently, the launch had been rescheduled to June 28, 2015, at 14:21:11 UTC, from Cape Canaveral LC-40.
The launch was scheduled to be the
third controlled-descent and landing test for the Falcon 9's first stage. It would have attempted to land on a new autonomous drone ship named ''
Of Course I Still Love You'' – named after a ship in the novel ''
The Player of Games
''The Player of Games'' is a science fiction novel by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1988. It was the second published Culture novel. A film version was planned by Pathé in the 1990s, but was abandoned.
Plot
Jernau Morat G ...
'' by
Iain M. Banks.
The spacecraft was planned to stay in orbit for five weeks before returning to Earth with approximately of supplies and waste.
Launch failure
Performance was nominal until 139 seconds into launch when a cloud of white vapor appeared, followed by a rapid loss of pressure in the liquid oxygen tank of the Falcon 9's second stage. The booster continued on its trajectory until the vehicle completely broke up several seconds later. The Dragon CRS-7 capsule was ejected from the exploding launch vehicle and continued transmitting data until it impacted with the ocean. SpaceX officials stated that it could have been recovered if the parachutes had deployed, but the software in the capsule did not include any provisions for parachute deployment in this situation.
It is assumed that the capsule crumpled and broke up on impact. Subsequent investigation traced the accident to the failure of a
strut
A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension.
Human anatomy
Part of the functionality o ...
that secured a high-pressure helium bottle inside the second stage's liquid-oxygen tank. With the helium pressurization system integrity breached, excess helium quickly flooded the liquid-oxygen tank, causing it to overpressurize and burst.
The report from SpaceX pointed out that the stainless-steel eye bolt was rated for a load of , but failed at .
An independent investigation by NASA concluded that the most probable cause of the strut failure was a design error: instead of using a stainless-steel eye bolt made of aerospace-grade material, SpaceX chose an industrial-grade material without adequate screening and testing and overlooked the recommended safety margin.
Payload
Primary payload
NASA contracted for the CRS-7 mission from SpaceX and therefore determined the primary payload, date/time of launch, and
orbital parameters
Orbital elements are the parameters required to uniquely identify a specific orbit. In celestial mechanics these elements are considered in two-body systems using a Kepler orbit. There are many different ways to mathematically describe the same ...
for the Dragon
space capsule
A space capsule is an often-crewed spacecraft that uses a blunt-body reentry capsule to reenter the Earth's atmosphere without wings. Capsules are distinguished from other satellites primarily by the ability to survive reentry and return a payl ...
.
, the first
International Docking Adapter
The International Docking Adapter (IDA) is a spacecraft docking system adapter developed to convert APAS-95 to the NASA Docking System (NDS). An IDA is placed on each of the International Space Station's (ISS) two open Pressurized Mating Adapte ...
, ''IDA-1'', was scheduled to be delivered to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
on CRS-7.
This adapter would have been attached to one of the existing
Pressurized Mating Adapter
The Pressurized Mating Adapter (PMA) is a class of spacecraft adapters that convert the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) used on the US Orbital Segment to APAS-95 docking ports. There are three PMAs located on the International Space Station (I ...
s (specifically, PMA-2 or PMA-3) and convert the existing
APAS-95
The terms Androgynous Peripheral Attach System (APAS), Androgynous Peripheral Assembly System (APAS) and Androgynous Peripheral Docking System (APDS), are used interchangeably to describe a family of spacecraft docking mechanisms, and are also so ...
docking interface to the newer
NASA Docking System
The NASA Docking System (NDS) is a spacecraft docking and berthing mechanism used on the International Space Station (ISS), the Orion spacecraft, and the Starliner. The NDS is NASA's implementation of the International Docking System Standard ...
(NDS).
These adapters allow
docking of the newer human-transport spacecraft of the
Commercial Crew Program
The Commercial Crew Program (CCP) provides commercially-operated crew transportation service to and from the International Space Station (ISS) under contract to NASA, conducting crew rotations between the expeditions of the International S ...
. Previous United States cargo missions since the retirement of the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
have been
berthed, rather than docked, while docking is considered the safer and preferred method for spacecraft carrying humans. The subsequent Cargo Dragon missions
CRS-9
SpaceX CRS-9, also known as SpX-9, is a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station which launched on 18 July 2016. The mission was contracted by NASA and is operated by SpaceX using a Dragon capsule.
The cargo wa ...
and
CRS-18 brought docking adapters IDA-2 and IDA-3, to PMA-2 and PMA-3 respectively. They have been in use since 2020.
Detailed payload manifest
A full listing of the cargo aboard the failed mission included the following items:
* Crew Supplies —
**92 Food
Bulk Overwrap Bags, 2 Bonus Food Kits, 2 Fresh Food Kits, including custom astronaut food cooked by British chef
Heston Blumenthal
Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with u ...
for British astronaut
Tim Peake
Major Timothy Nigel Peake (born 7 April 1972) is a British Army Air Corps officer, European Space Agency astronaut and a former International Space Station (ISS) crew member.
He is the first British ESA astronaut, the second astronaut to b ...
**Crew Provisions, Crew Care, Operations data file
* Utilization —
**
Canadian Space Agency: Vascular Echo Exercise Band
**
European Space Agency: Circadian Rhythms,
KUBIK EBOXes, Interface Plate, EPO Peake, BioLab, Spheroids, EMCS RBLSS, Airway Mon., LiOH Cartridge
**
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency: Atomization, Biological Rhythms, Multi-omics, Cell Mechanosensing 3, Plant Gravity Sensing 3, SAIBO L&M, Space Pup, Stem Cells, MSPR LM, Group Combustion Camera
**
US: 2 Polars, 6 DCBs and Ice Bricks, 1 MERLIN, FCF/HRF Resupply, HRP Resupply
its, MCT, Microbiome, Twin Studies IMAX Camera, Meteor, Micro-9, MSG Resupply, NanoRacks Modules & 0.5 NRCSD #7, Universal Battery Charger, Veg-03, Microbial Observatory-1, Microchannel Diffusion Experiment, Wetlab RNA Smartcycler, SCK, Story Time, MELFI TDR Batteries
*Computer Resources —
**Projector Screen, Sidekick, OCT Laptop & Power Supply, 32GB
MicroSD Cards, Generic USB Cables, Power Modules and Card Readers, Preloaded
T61p Hard Drives, CD Storage Container, Network Attached Storage Devices, XF305 Camcorders, RS-422 Adapter Cables
*Vehicle Hardware —
**CHECS CMS: HRM Watches, Bench Lock Studs, Glenn Harness for Kelly, Kopra and Peake
**CHECS EHS: Monitoring Assemblies, Filter Assemblies, CSA-CP/CDM Battery Assemblies, SIECE Cartridge Assemblies, Water Kit, Petri Dish Packets
**CHECS HMS: IMAKs, Oral Med Packs
**C&T: C2V2 Communications Unit (and HTV-5 Unit Data Converter)
**
ECLSS: 3 Pretreat Tanks, Filter Inserts, 9 KTOs, UPA FCPA, CDRS ASV, IMV Valve, Wring Collector, Water Sampling Kits, OGS ACTEX Filter, ARFTA Brine Filter Assemblies, / Pressure Sensor, NORS Tank, **3 PBA Assemblies, 2 MF Beds, 2 Urine Receptacles, Toilet Paper Packages, Sensor, Ammonia Cartridge Bag, PTU XFER Hose
**
EPS: 2 Avionics Restart Cables
**
Makita
() is a Japanese manufacturer of power tools. Founded on March 21, 1915, it is based in Anjō, Japan and operates factories in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Canada and th ...
Drill, PWD Filter, N3 Bulkhead Connectors, Yellow/Red Adapters, IWIS Plates, 6.0 & 4.0 Waste Xfer Bags, BEAM Ground Straps, JEM Stowage Wire Kit
*
EVA
Eva or EVA may refer to:
* Eva (name), a feminine given name
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment
* Eva (''Devil May Cry''), Dante's mother in t ...
Hardware —
**SEMU, REBA, EMU Ion Filters (4), Equipment Tethers, Gas Grap, EMU Mirrors, Crew Lock Bags, SEMU arms/legs
**Lindgren/Yui ECOKs & CCAs, Lindgren LCVG
**Kelly LCVG, Padalka EMU Gloves
*Russian Cargo
**Russian Segment Torque Wrench
*Unpressurized Cargo —
**
International Docking Adapter
The International Docking Adapter (IDA) is a spacecraft docking system adapter developed to convert APAS-95 to the NASA Docking System (NDS). An IDA is placed on each of the International Space Station's (ISS) two open Pressurized Mating Adapte ...
#1
The mission would have transported more than of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station including the
Meteor Composition Determination investigation which would have observed
meteors
A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space.
Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...
entering the Earth's atmosphere by taking high resolution photos and videos. The
Center for the Advancement of Science in Space
The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), a non-profit organization, is the manager of the International Space Station United States National Laboratory, a US government-funded laboratory with principal research facilities locat ...
had arranged for it to carry more than 30 student research projects to the station including experiments dealing with
pollination
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...
in
microgravity as well as an experiment to evaluate a
sunlight blocking form of plastic.
CRS-7 would have brought a pair of modified
Microsoft HoloLenses to the International Space Station as part of
Project Sidekick.
Planned post-launch flight test
After the second stage
separation, SpaceX planned to conduct a
flight test
Flight testing is a branch of aeronautical engineering that develops specialist equipment required for testing aircraft behaviour and systems. Instrumentation systems are developed using proprietary transducers and data acquisition systems. D ...
and
attempt to return the Falcon 9's nearly empty
first stage through the atmosphere and land it on
autonomous spaceport drone ship
An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform and is autonomously controlled when on station for a landing. Construction of ...
''Of Course I Still Love You''.
[
]
This would have been SpaceX's third attempt to land the booster on a floating platform after earlier tests in
January 2015 and
April 2015 were not successful. The boosters were fitted with a variety of technologies to facilitate the flight test, including
grid fins
Grid fins (or lattice fins) are a type of flight control surface used on rockets and bombs, sometimes in place of more conventional control surfaces, such as planar fins. They were developed in the 1950s by a team led by and used since the 197 ...
and
landing legs to facilitate the post-mission test.
[
][
]
See also
*
2015 in spaceflight
In 2015, the maiden spaceflights of the Chinese Long March 6 and Long March 11 launch vehicles took place.
A total of 87 orbital launches were attempted in 2015, of which 82 were successful, one was partially successful and four were failur ...
*
List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches
Since June 2010, rockets from the Falcon 9 family have been launched times, with full mission successes, one partial failure and one total loss of the spacecraft. In addition, one rocket and its payload were destroyed on the launch pad durin ...
*
Cygnus CRS Orb-3
Orbital-3, also known as Orb-3, was an attempted flight of Cygnus, an automated cargo spacecraft developed by United States-based company Orbital Sciences, on 28 October 2014. The mission was intended to launch at 22:22:38 UTC that evening. T ...
*
Progress M-27M
Progress M-27M (russian: Прогресс М-27М, italic=yes), identified by NASA as Progress 59P, was a Progress spacecraft used by Roscosmos in an unsuccessful attempt to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015.
Launch
Progre ...
References
External links
Mission Overview NASA, 2 pages, pdf, June 24, 2015.
Press Kit NASA, 27 pages, pdf, June 26, 2015.
{{DEFAULTSORT:CRS 007
SpaceX Dragon
Spacecraft launched in 2015
Satellite launch failures
SpaceX payloads contracted by NASA
Supply vehicles for the International Space Station
Rocket launches in 2015
Space accidents and incidents in the United States