On Board the “Dragon” materials to more than 250 research and scientific experiments.

Today, December 5 on the launch pad SLC–40 US air force base at Cape Canaveral will launch a Falcon 9 rocket us private company SpaceX cargo ship Dragon to the International space station, reports liga.net.

The ignition happens at exactly 20:16 on launch pad SLC-40 air bases of the U.S. air force at Cape Canaveral in Florida, if this does not prevent weather or problems with equipment/personnel.

Within 10 minutes after the launch, SpaceX engineers are going to gently put the sustainer stage of the rocket on the pad near the start.

The mission is called CRS-16 (program supply station Commercial Resupply Service).

On Board the “Dragon” materials to more than 250 research and scientific experiments, which will be held by the members of the ISS-and the ISS 57-58 .

The ship will be released into a preliminary orbit 10 minutes after launch, and then open the solar panel and will conduct a series of engine burns to two days later be synchronized with the orbit of the ISS and eventually to dock to it to the module “Harmony”.

Among main instruments on Board the Dragon – lidar from NASA GEDI (Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation) and 3 RRM (Robotic Refueling Mission 3).

The GEDI project will allow NASA on a global scale and with high precision to create 3D model of forest cover and to measure how deforestation affects atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. Directs the research of Professor Ralph Dubai from the University of Maryland.

Lidar for two years will consolidate outside the station on the Japanese module “Kibo”.

Project RRM3 scientists are studying new methods of storage and transfer in microgravity sverhkrupnyh fluids (such as methane). The improvement of these techniques will help to alleviate deep space expeditions, including to the moon or Mars.

In addition, among the cargo will be contributions to the contest Guardians of the Galaxy Space Station Challenge under the auspices of movie studios, Marvel Entertainment and National laboratory of the United States. Teens compete who has the best science project in space.

“Team rocket Raccoon” studies special dental glue solidification in zero gravity – in the case that an astronaut will break a tooth or he will drop the seal.

“The team is Groot” is figuring out how to provide the most efficient watering of plants in microgravity: for this, they try “fog generator” which works at the root system of the plant. The results of the experiment can help astronauts protracted expeditions to grow vegetables and fruit.

The station will also bring a couple of cube-Sats, which was to throw on the truck Cygnus NG-10, but for some reason postponed their delivery. We are talking about coultate UNITE from the University of southern Indiana, as well as cubsthe TechEdSat-8 from TEA research center Ames Research Center.

The entire list of what is and what is driven on the ISS available in English here. And this is the video presentation for the cargo on the Dragon:

The altitude of Falcon 9 Block 5 is about 70 m, the diameter of the steps, the 3.66 m diameter nose fairing (cargo Bay) — 5.3 m, weight without fuel is about 29 tons, fully fueled, up to 549 tons. The thrust of the sustainer stage provide 9 engine Merlin 1D, the second — 1 engine Merlin 1D Vacuum, both work on a mixture of liquid oxygen and rocket fuel.

This modification of the Falcon 9 in General meet the criteria of NASA for manned flights. It 2019, together with the ship Crew Dragon will with slight modifications be used to derive astronauts into orbit and return them to the Earth.