[Annulation météo] LANCEMENT SPACEX CRS-34 (Fusée Falcon 9 - Lancement spatial FR Cargo vers l'ISS)
Video from the channel UFOTINIK about Falcon 9, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 27:20. Language: French. Video type: Livestream.
What's being broadcast
Live stream in French, with commentary from the UFOTINIK channel, of the countdown for SpaceX's CRS-34 mission with a Falcon 9. It is the 34th International Space Station resupply mission SpaceX has flown for NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program, and the 14th of its second phase. The cargo traveled aboard the Cargo Dragon capsule C209, on its sixth flight, carrying about 2,948 kg of material: crew supplies, scientific equipment, spacewalk gear, station spare parts and computer equipment.
Key moments
While propellant loading is underway, the commentator explains how the Cargo Dragon differs from the Crew Dragon: it has no SuperDraco abort engines or a full life-support system, and the seats are replaced with cargo racks. He also reviews the spacecraft currently resupplying the station (Cygnus, Progress and Dragon) and describes the Falcon 9: 70.1 m tall, 3.6 m in diameter, 538 t at liftoff, nine Merlin engines on the first stage and one on the second, which ignite using the hypergolic TEA-TEB mixture. The first stage, booster B1096 on its sixth flight, was to return to the new landing zone 40, a few hundred meters from the launch site. He also presents several experiments: one on bacterial biofilm formation in microgravity; STORIE, which seeks to determine the origin of ionized oxygen in Earth's ring current; and an instrument to measure ionospheric plasma that would be installed outside the Columbus laboratory. Docking was scheduled for that same day, with ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway tasked with monitoring the arrival.
Outcome
The weather forecast started at 60% favorable conditions, dropped to 10% an hour before, and rose back to 50%. In the end, with an instantaneous launch window and storms over Florida, the countdown stopped in the final minute and the launch was scrubbed for weather. The next attempt was set for about 24 hours later.