Media Call Set Ahead of SpaceX CRS-18 Launch To Reveal Scientific Payloads
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on April 2, 2018, carrying the SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft on the company’s 14th Commercial Resupply Services contract mission to the International Space Station.
Media Credit: NASA/Tony Gray, Tim Powers, Tim Terry
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), July 1, 2019 – On July 9 at 1 p.m. EDT, NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration will host a media teleconference to provide information on SpaceX’s 18th commercial resupply services mission(Abbreviation: CRS mission) A CRS mission is a cargo resupply mission contracted by NASA to deliver supplies and research to the International Space Station on commercial spacecraft as part of the CRS contract with three commercial companies. As part of CRS missions, experiments currently return to Earth on SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that splash down in the ocean. to the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station), SpaceX CRS-18. This launch will include more than 50 experiments sponsored by the U.S. National Laboratory.
ISS National Lab Chief Operating Officer Kenneth Shields will participate in the teleconference and discuss investigations flying on this mission, including an experiment from the National Stem Cell Foundation titled The Effects of MicrogravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. on Microglia 3-Dimensional Models of Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. Principal investigators Andres Bratt-Leal and Valentina Fossati will give a presentation on the investigation.
According to Shields, “This launch features more ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations than any previous resupply mission. The demand for space-based research and development continues to increase as companies look to take advantage of the unique environment onboard the space station. Payloads on this mission include investigations from Fortune 500 companies, startups, and academic institutions as well as exciting education projects and new hardware facilities to increase station research capabilities.”
To learn more about all ISS National Lab-sponsored investigations on SpaceX CRS-18 please visit issnationallab.org.
To receive dial-in information to participate in the teleconference, media representatives must contact Josh Finch at 202-358-1100 or Joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov by 4 p.m. Friday, July 5.
Media Contact:
Patrick O’Neill
(321) 480-1054
PONeill@issnationallab.org
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About the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory: In 2005, Congress designated the U.S. portion of the ISS as the nation’s newest national laboratory to optimize its use for improving quality of life on Earth, promoting collaboration among diverse users, and advancing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. This unique laboratory environment is available for use by non-NASA U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The ISS National Lab manages access to the permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles., and the extreme and varied conditions of space.
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