SpaceX CRS-17, also known as SpX-17, was a Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS) to the International Space Station that was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on 4 May 2019.[5] The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX. An umbilical connection from the strongback remained attached to the spacecraft and is visible in photos taken of it approaching & attached to the ISS.[6]
Launch schedule history
In February 2016, it was announced that NASA had awarded a contract extension to SpaceX for five additional CRS missions (CRS-16 to CRS-20).[7] In June 2016, a NASA Inspector General report had this mission manifested for October 2018,[8] but by January 2019 this had been pushed back to April 2019.[9]
Due to a Dragon 2 test anomaly on 20 April 2019, SpaceX needed to acquire a permit to allow landing on the drone ship, "Of Course I Still Love You". The ship was stationed just 28 kilometres (17 mi) downrange "to ensure the integrity of the area and preserve valuable information".[10][11]
Primary payload
Total weight of the cargo on the CRS-17 mission was 2,482 kg (5,472 lb), consisting of 1,517 kg (3,344 lb) in the pressurized section and 965 kg in the unpressurized section.[12]
Launches are separated by dots ( • ), payloads by commas ( , ), multiple names for the same satellite by slashes ( / ). Crewed flights are underlined. Launch failures are marked with the † sign. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are (enclosed in parentheses).