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SpaceX CRS-7

Disintegration of the SpaceX CRS-7 launch vehicle approximately two minutes after liftoff as seen from a NASA tracking camera.
Names	SpX-7
Mission type	ISS resupply
Operator	SpaceX
Mission duration	2 minutes, 19 seconds
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Dragon 1 C109
Spacecraft type	Dragon 1
Manufacturer	SpaceX
Start of mission
Launch date	28 June 2015, 14:21:11 (2015-06-28UTC14:21:11) UTC
Rocket	Falcon 9 v1.1 (B1018)
Launch site	Cape Canaveral, SLC-40
Contractor	SpaceX
End of mission
Disposal	Destroyed on launch
Destroyed	28 June 2015, 14:23:30 (2015-06-28UTC14:23:31) UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Inclination	51.6°
NASA SpX-7 mission patch Commercial Resupply Services← SpaceX CRS-6OA-4 → Cargo Dragon← SpaceX CRS-6SpaceX CRS-8 →

SpaceX CRS-7, also known as SpX-7, was a private American Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, contracted to NASA, which launched and failed on June 28, 2015. It disintegrated 139 seconds into the flight after launch from Cape Canaveral, just before the first stage was to separate from the second stage. It was the ninth flight for SpaceX's uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft and the seventh SpaceX operational mission contracted to NASA under a Commercial Resupply Services contract. The vehicle launched on a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle. It was the nineteenth overall flight for the Falcon 9 and the fourteenth flight for the substantially upgraded Falcon 9 v1.1.

Launch history

In January 2015, the launch was tentatively scheduled by NASA for no earlier than June 13, 2015. This was adjusted to June 22, 2015, then moved forward to June 19, 2015, and adjusted again to June 26, 2015. Subsequently, the launch had been rescheduled to June 28, 2015, at 14:21:11 UTC, from Cape Canaveral LC-40. The launch was scheduled to be the third controlled-descent and landing test for the Falcon 9's first stage. It would have attempted to land on a new autonomous drone ship named Of Course I Still Love You – named after a ship in the novel The Player of Games by Iain M. Banks. The spacecraft was planned to stay in orbit for five weeks before returning to Earth with approximately 1,400 pounds (640 kg) of supplies and waste.

Launch failure

Performance was nominal until 139 seconds into launch when a cloud of white vapor appeared, followed by a rapid loss of pressure in the liquid oxygen tank of the Falcon 9's second stage. The booster continued on its trajectory until the vehicle completely broke up several seconds later. The Dragon CRS-7 capsule was ejected from the exploding launch vehicle and continued transmitting data until it impacted with the ocean. SpaceX officials stated that it could have been recovered if the parachutes had deployed, but the software in the capsule did not include any provisions for parachute deployment in this situation. It is assumed that the capsule crumpled and broke up on impact. Subsequent investigation traced the accident to the failure of a strut that secured a high-pressure helium bottle inside the second stage's liquid oxygen tank. With the helium pressurization system integrity breached, excess helium quickly flooded the liquid oxygen tank, causing it to overpressurize and burst. The report from SpaceX pointed out that the stainless-steel eye bolt was rated for a load of 10000 pounds, but failed at 2000 pounds.

An independent investigation by NASA concluded that the most probable cause of the strut failure was a design error: instead of using a stainless-steel eye bolt made of aerospace-grade material, SpaceX chose an industrial-grade material without adequate screening and testing and overlooked the recommended safety margin.

Payload

Primary payload

NASA contracted with SpaceX for the CRS-7 mission and set the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule.

As of July 2013, the first International Docking Adapter, IDA-1, was scheduled for delivery to the International Space Station on CRS-7. This adapter would have been attached to one of the Pressurized Mating Adapters (PMA-2 or PMA-3) and converted the APAS-95 docking interface to the newer NASA Docking System (NDS). These adapters allow docking of the newer human-transport spacecraft of the Commercial Crew Program. Previous United States cargo missions after the retirement of the Space Shuttle were berthed, rather than docked, while docking is considered the safer and preferred method for spacecraft carrying humans. The subsequent Cargo Dragon missions CRS-9 and CRS-18 brought docking adapters IDA-2 and IDA-3, to PMA-2 and PMA-3 respectively. They have been in use since 2020.

Detailed payload manifest

A full listing of the cargo aboard the failed mission included:

• A Gorilla Suit

• Crew Supplies — 690 kilograms (1,520 lb)
  • 92 Food Bulk Overwrap Bags, 2 Bonus Food Kits, 2 Fresh Food Kits, including custom astronaut food cooked by British chef Heston Blumenthal for British astronaut Tim Peake
  • Crew Provisions, Crew Care, Operations data file
• Utilization — 573 kilograms (1,263 lb)
  • Canadian Space Agency: Vascular Echo Exercise Band
  • European Space Agency: Circadian Rhythms, KUBIK EBOXes, Interface Plate, EPO Peake, BioLab, Spheroids, EMCS RBLSS, Airway Mon., LiOH Cartridge
  • Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency: Atomization, Biological Rhythms, Multi-omics, Cell Mechanosensing 3, Plant Gravity Sensing 3, SAIBO L&M, Space Pup, Stem Cells, MSPR LM, Group Combustion Camera
  • US: 2 Polars, 6 DCBs and Ice Bricks, 1 MERLIN, FCF/HRF Resupply, HRP Resupply , IMAX Camera, Meteor, Micro-9, MSG Resupply, NanoRacks Modules & 0.5 NRCSD #7, Universal Battery Charger, Veg-03, Microbial Observatory-1, Microchannel Diffusion Experiment, Wetlab RNA Smartcycler, SCK, Story Time, MELFI TDR Batteries
• Computer resources — 36 kilograms (79 lb)
  • Projector screen, Sidekick, OCT laptop and power supply, 32 GB microSD cards, generic USB cables, power modules and card readers, preloaded ThinkPad T61p hard drives, CD storage container, network-attached storage devices, XF305 camcorders, RS-422 adapter cables
• Vehicle hardware — 462 kilograms (1,019 lb)
  • CHECS CMS: HRM Watches, Bench Lock Studs, Glenn Harness for Kelly, Kopra and Peake
  • CHECS EHS: CO₂ Monitoring Assemblies, Filter Assemblies, CSA-CP/CDM Battery Assemblies, SIECE Cartridge Assemblies, Water Kit, Petri Dish Packets
  • CHECS HMS: IMAKs, Oral Med Packs
  • C&T: C2V2 Communications Unit (and HTV-5 Unit Data Converter)
  • ECLSS: 3 Pretreat Tanks, Filter Inserts, 9 KTOs, UPA FCPA, CDRS ASV, IMV Valve, Wring Collector, Water Sampling Kits, OGS ACTEX Filter, ARFTA Brine Filter Assemblies, O₂/N₂ Pressure Sensor, NORS O₂ Tank, **3 PBA Assemblies, 2 MF Beds, 2 Urine Receptacles, Toilet Paper Packages, H
    ₂ Sensor, Ammonia Cartridge Bag, PTU XFER Hose
  • EPS: 2 Avionics Restart Cables
  • Makita Drill, PWD Filter, N3 Bulkhead Connectors, Yellow/Red Adapters, IWIS Plates, 6.0 & 4.0 Waste Xfer Bags, BEAM Ground Straps, JEM Stowage Wire Kit
• EVA Hardware — 167 kilograms (368 lb)
  • SEMU, REBA, EMU Ion Filters (4), Equipment Tethers, Gas Grap, EMU Mirrors, Crew Lock Bags, SEMU arms/legs
  • Lindgren/Yui ECOKs & CCAs, Lindgren LCVG
  • Kelly LCVG, Padalka EMU Gloves
• Russian Cargo
  • Russian Segment Torque Wrench
• Unpressurized Cargo — 526 kilograms (1,160 lb)
  • International Docking Adapter #1

The mission would have transported more than 4,000 pounds (1,800 kg) of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station including the Meteor Composition Determination investigation which would have observed meteors entering the Earth's atmosphere by taking high resolution photos and videos. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space had arranged for it to carry more than 30 student research projects to the station including experiments dealing with pollination in microgravity as well as an experiment to evaluate a sunlight blocking form of plastic.

CRS-7 would have brought a pair of modified Microsoft HoloLenses to the International Space Station as part of Project Sidekick.

Planned post-launch flight test

After the second stage separation, SpaceX planned to conduct a flight test and attempt to return the Falcon 9's nearly empty first stage through the atmosphere and land it on autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You.

This would have been SpaceX's third attempt to land the booster on a floating platform after earlier tests in January 2015 and April 2015 were not successful. The boosters were fitted with a variety of technologies to facilitate the flight test, including grid fins and landing legs to facilitate the post-mission test.

See also

• 2015 in spaceflight
• List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches
• Cygnus Orb-3
• Progress M-27M

References

1. Smith, Marcia S. (June 28, 2015). "Pressurization Event in Second Stage Likely Cause of SpaceX CRS-7 Failure". Space Policy Online. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
2. "Unmanned SpaceX rocket explodes after Florida launch". BBC News. June 28, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
3. "Worldwide Launch Schedule". SpaceflightNow. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
4. "NASA Opens Media Accreditation for Next SpaceX Station Resupply Launch". NASA. May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
5. ^ Speck, Emilee (June 25, 2015). "SpaceX resupply launch, barge landing attempt set for Sunday". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
6. Bergin, Chris (July 27, 2015). "Saving Spaceship Dragon – Software to provide contingency chute deploy". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
7. "CRS-7 Investigation Update". SpaceX. July 20, 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
8. "CRS-7 INVESTIGATION UPDATE". SpaceX. July 20, 2015. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
9. "NASA Independent Review Team SpaceX CRS-7 Accident Investigation Report Public Summary" (PDF). NASA. March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
10. "Status of Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEO)" (PDF). NASA. July 29, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
11. Hartman, Dan (July 23, 2012). "International Space Station Program Status" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
12. Lupo, Chris (June 14, 2010). "NDS Configuration and Requirements Changes since Nov 2010" (PDF). NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
13. Clark, Stephen (June 29, 2015). "SpaceX failure adds another kink in station supply chain". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
14. Herbst, Diane (January 17, 2022). "Astronaut Scott Kelly Reveals Real Story Behind Video of Him in Gorilla Suit Aboard Space Station". People Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
15. Knapton, Sarah (June 21, 2015). "Britain's first official astronaut to enjoy fine dining on space mission". The Telegraph. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
16. Alfano, Andrea (June 25, 2015). "HoloLens Is Going To Space As Sidekick In A Joint Project By NASA And Microsoft". Tech Times. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
17. Bass, Dina (June 25, 2015). "NASA to Use HoloLens on Space Station". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
18. ^ Gebhardt, Chris; Bergin, Chris (June 24, 2015). "World launch markets look toward rocket reusability". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
19. Bergin, Chris (April 3, 2015). "SpaceX preparing for a busy season of missions and test milestones". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
20. Graham, William (April 13, 2015). "SpaceX Falcon 9 scrubs CRS-6 Dragon launch due to weather". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved June 26, 2015.

External links

• Mission Overview, NASA, 2 pages, pdf, June 24, 2015.
• Press Kit, NASA, 27 pages, pdf, June 26, 2015.

v t e SpaceX Dragon 1 and Dragon 2
CCP COTS CRS
Spacecraft	C100 C106 C108 C201 DragonFly C204 C205 C206 Endeavour C207 Resilience C208 C209 C210 Endurance C211 C212 Freedom C213
Hardware	Falcon 9 1.0 1.1 v1.2 Full Thrust Block 5 Draco SuperDraco
Missions	Demo flights Dragon test flight COTS-1 COTS-2 Pad Abort Test Demo-1 In-Flight Abort Test Demo-2 ISS logistics CRS-1 CRS-2 CRS-3 CRS-4 CRS-5 CRS-6 CRS-7† CRS-8 CRS-9 CRS-10 CRS-11 CRS-12 CRS-13 CRS-14 CRS-15 CRS-16 CRS-17 CRS-18 CRS-19 CRS-20 CRS-21 CRS-22 CRS-23 CRS-24 CRS-25 CRS-26 CRS-27 CRS-28 CRS-29 CRS-30 CRS-31 CRS-32 Crewed missions Demo-2 Crew-1 Crew-2 Inspiration4 Crew-3 Axiom-1 Crew-4 Crew-5 Crew-6 Axiom-2 Crew-7 Axiom-3 Crew-8 Polaris Dawn Crew-9 Fram2 Crew-10 Axiom-4 Polaris-2 Vast-1
Ongoing spaceflights in underline Italics indicates future missions Symbol † indicates failed missions

v t e Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station
See also: {{Crewed ISS flights}} {{ISS expeditions}}
2000–2004	2000 2R / Zvezda 1P 2P 3P 2001 4P 5P SO1 / Pirs 6P 2002 7P 8P 9P 2003 10P 11P 12P 2004 13P 14P 15P 16P
2005–2009	2005 17P 18P 19P 20P 2006 21P 22P 23P 2007 24P 25P 26P 27P 2008 28P ATV-1 29P 30P 31P 2009 32P 33P 34P HTV-1 35P MIM2 / Poisk
2010–2014	2010 36P 37P 38P 39P 40P 2011 HTV-2 41P ATV-2 42P 43P 44P† 45P 2012 46P ATV-3 47P SpX-D HTV-3 48P SpX-1 49P 2013 50P SpX-2 51P ATV-4 52P HTV-4 Orb-D1 53P 2014 Orb-1 54P 55P SpX-3 Orb-2 56P ATV-5 SpX-4 Orb-3† 57P
2015–2019	2015 SpX-5 58P SpX-6 59P† SpX-7† 60P HTV-5 61P OA-4 62P 2016 OA-6 63P SpX-8 64P SpX-9 OA-5 65P† HTV-6 2017 SpX-10 66P OA-7 SpX-11 67P SpX-12 68P OA-8E SpX-13 2018 69P SpX-14 OA-9E SpX-15 70P HTV-7 71P NG-10 SpX-16 2019 SpX-DM1 72P NG-11 SpX-17 SpX-18 73P 60S HTV-8 NG-12 SpX-19 74P Boe-OFT†
2020–2024	2020 NG-13 SpX-20 75P HTV-9 76P NG-14 SpX-21 2021 77P NG-15 SpX-22 78P Nauka NG-16 SpX-23 79P M-UM / Prichal SpX-24 2022 80P NG-17 Boe-OFT 2 81P SpX-25 82P NG-18 SpX-26 2023 83P SpX-27 84P SpX-28 NG-19 85P SpX-29 86P 2024 NG-20 87P SpX-30 88P NG-21 89P SpX-31 90P
Future	2025 91P SpX-32 NG-22 SSC Demo-1 92P NG-23 93P HTV-X1 94P NG-24 SpX-33 SpX-34 SpX-35 2025 95P 96P 97P 98P NG-25 2030 US Deorbit Vehicle
Spacecraft	Roscomos Progress ESA ATV (past) JAXA HTV NASA CRS SpaceX Dragon 1 (past) SpaceX Dragon 2 Northrop Grumman Cygnus Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser
Ongoing spaceflights in underline Future spaceflights in italics † - mission failed to reach ISS

• SpaceX Dragon
• Spacecraft launched in 2015
• Satellite launch failures
• SpaceX payloads contracted by NASA
• Supply vehicles for the International Space Station
• Rocket launches in 2015
• Space accidents and incidents in the United States