.jpg) The CRS-8 SpaceX Dragon captured by Canadarm on April 10, 2016 | |
| Names | SpX-8 |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS resupply |
| Operator | SpaceX |
| COSPAR ID | 2016-024A |
| SATCAT no. | 41452 |
| Mission duration | 32 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Dragon 1 C110 |
| Spacecraft type | Dragon 1 |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | April 8, 2016, 20:43 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Full Thrust (B1021)[1] |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC-40 |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Recovered |
| Landing date | May 11, 2016, 18:31 UTC[2] |
| Landing site | Pacific Ocean[2] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
| Periapsis altitude | 402 km (250 mi) |
| Apoapsis altitude | 405 km (252 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.64 degrees |
| Period | 92.63 minutes |
| Epoch | May 10, 2016, 13:19:38 UTC |
| Berthing at ISS | |
| Berthing port | Harmony nadir |
| RMS capture | April 10, 2016, 11:23 UTC[3] |
| Berthing date | April 10, 2016, 13:57 UTC[3] |
| Unberthing date | May 11, 2016, 11:00 UTC[4] |
| RMS release | May 11, 2016, 13:19 UTC[3] |
| Time berthed | 30 days, 21 hours, 3 minutes |
| Cargo | |
| Mass | 3,136 kg (6,914 lb) |
| Pressurised | 1,723 kg (3,799 lb) |
| Unpressurised | 1,413 kg (3,115 lb) |
 NASA SpX-8 mission patch | |
SpaceX CRS-8, also known as SpX-8,[5] was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) which was launched on April 8, 2016, at 20:43 UTC. It was the 23rd flight of a Falcon 9 rocket, the tenth flight of a Dragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted to SpaceX by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program.[6] The capsule carried over 3,100 kilograms (6,800 lb) of cargo to the ISS including the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), a prototype inflatable space habitat delivered in the vehicle's trunk, which was attached to the station and, as of May 2022, is expected to remain so for five more full years of in-orbit viability tests.[7]
After boosting the payload on its orbital trajectory, the rocket's first stage re-entered the denser layers of the atmosphere and landed vertically on the ocean landing platform Of Course I Still Love You nine minutes after liftoff, achieving a long-sought-after milestone in SpaceX reusable launch system development program.[8]
The recovered Falcon 9 first stage (B1021) from this mission became the first one to be flown again, launching the SES-10 satellite on March 30, 2017.[9]
- ^ Foust, Jeff (September 6, 2015). "SpaceX Will Debut Upgraded Falcon 9 Rocket on Return to Flight Mission". Space.com.
- ^ a b "Dragon Splashdown" (Press release). SpaceX. May 11, 2016.
- ^ a b c Gebhardt, Chris (May 11, 2016). "CRS-8 Dragon completes ISS mission, splashes down in Pacific". NASA Spaceflight. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
- ^ "May 2016 – Page 13 – ISS On-Orbit Status Report". blogs.nasa.gov. May 11, 2016. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
- ^ Hartman, Daniel W. (July 2014). "Status of the ISS USOS" (PDF). NASA Advisory Council HEOMD Committee. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- ^ "NASA to Test Bigelow Expandable Module on Space Station". NASA. January 16, 2013. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ^ Thomson, Iain (March 14, 2015). "SpaceX to deliver Bigelow blow-up job to ISS astronauts". The Register. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
natgeowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Grush, Loren (March 30, 2017). "SpaceX makes aerospace history with successful launch and landing of a used rocket". The Verge. Retrieved March 31, 2017.