SpaceX launch: A step-by-step guide

If all goes well on Saturday, SpaceX will launch the very first commercial visit to the International Space Station. Here is how the trip is expected to go.

By Clara Moskowitz,?SPACE.com / May 16, 2012

SpaceX's Dragon will lift off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Here, the capsule launches atop a Falcon 9 rocket on its first ever flight test in December 2010.

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On May 19, if all goes well, the private spaceflight company SpaceX will launch the first commercial spaceship ever to visit the International Space Station. But the mission will be like no other U.S. flight to the orbiting laboratory.

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SpaceX's unmanned?Dragon capsule?is due to deliver food, supplies and science experiments to the outpost as a test mission for NASA. The space agency awarded the company a $1.6 billion contract for 12 robotic resupply flights to fill the delivery needs left over by the space shuttle fleet's retirement last year.

SpaceX is one of two companies with NASA contracts for robotic cargo delivery flights (Virginia's Orbital Technologies Corp. is the other), but is the first to actually try a launch. And as the first American-built robotic cargo ship ever to visit the space station, there are some unique aspects of this mission NASA is hoping will succeed.

Here's how the robotic mission is expected to play out:

Step 1: Launch

The Dragon capsule is set to lift off aboard?SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket?from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.SpaceX?has use of the facility's Space Launch Complex 40, where the rocket will blast off May 19 at 4:55 a.m. EDT,?if plans stay on schedule. The initial ascent is powered by Falcon 9's first stage, consisting of nine SpaceX Merlin 1C rocket engines.

Step 2: Main Engine Cut Off/Stage Separation

At a little before 180 seconds into the flight, the?Falcon 9's first stage engines will cut off, and the first stage will drop off, falling back to Earth. At this point, the booster's second stage engines should start, further propelling the vehicle into orbit.

Step 3: Payload Separation

Around 9 minutes into the flight, the Dragon capsule should separate from Falcon 9's second stage and orbit on its own. The capsule will deploy its solar arrays to start soaking up energy from the sun. At this point, Dragon is on its own and must maneuver using its onboard thrusters. [The World's Tallest Rockets: How They Stack Up]

Step 4: Orbital Checkouts

After reaching orbit, Dragon will begin a series of checkouts to make sure it's functioning as designed and ready to meet up with the station.

Teams on the ground will lead the vehicle through tests of its Absolute GPS (AGPS) system, which uses global positioning system satellites to determine its location in space. It will also demonstrate its performance in free drift phase, with thrusters inhibited. Finally, Dragon will test out its abort system to prove it can terminate its activities and move away from the space station if something goes wrong.

Step 5: Fly-Under

During its third day in orbit, Dragon will fire its thrusters to perform a fly-under of the International Space Station, swooping to 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) below the outpost. At this point, the capsule will make radio contact with the station using a system called the COTS Ultra-high frequency Communication Unit to communicate.

During the fly-under, Dragon will also test a secondary locator system called the relative GPS system, which uses the spacecraft's position relative to the space station to establish its coordinates.

While Dragon is flying under the station, the six-person crew inside the orbiting laboratory will be monitoring their new visitor. They will use a crew command panel onboard the station to communicate with the capsule and send it a command to turn on a strobe light.

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