Watch: SpaceX launch of CRS-15 to resupply the space station
SpaceX is targeting Friday, June 29 for an instantaneous launch of its fifteenth Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-15) at 5:42 a.m. EDT, or 9:42 UTC, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Dragon resupply capsule will separate from the Falcon 9 second stage about nine minutes and thirty seconds after liftoff and attach to the space station on Monday, July 2. An instantaneous backup launch opportunity is available on Sunday, July 1 at 4:54 a.m. EDT, or 8:54 UTC. Both Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft for the CRS-15 mission are flight-proven. Falcon 9’s first stage previously supported the TESS mission in April 2018, and Dragon previously supported the CRS-9 mission in July 2016. SpaceX will not attempt to recover Falcon 9’s first stage after launch.
The Dragon resupply module will dock with the International Space Station early Monday, July 2 after several altitude and co-elliptical engine burns. The capsule will stay attached to the ISS for about a month before it returns to Earth.
This is the last launch of a block IV Falcon 9 as SpaceX transitions to its Block V models.