SpaceX CRS-8

SpaceX CRS-8, also known as SpX-8, 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. 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.

SpaceX CRS-8
The CRS-8 SpaceX Dragon captured by Canadarm on April 10, 2016
Mission typeISS resupply
OperatorSpaceX / NASA
COSPAR ID2016-024A
SATCAT no.41452
Mission duration32 days, 21 hours, 48 minutes
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftDragon C110
Spacecraft typeDragon CRS
ManufacturerSpaceX
Start of mission
Launch dateApril 8, 2016, 20:43 (2016-04-08UTC20:43) UTC
RocketFalcon 9 FT
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-40
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
DisposalRecovered
Landing dateMay 11, 2016, 18:31 (2016-05-11UTC18:32) UTC
Landing sitePacific Ocean
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
Perigee altitude402 km (250 mi)
Apogee altitude405 km (252 mi)
Inclination51.64 degrees
Period92.63 minutes
EpochMay 10, 2016, 13:19:38 UTC
Berthing at ISS
Berthing portHarmony nadir
RMS captureApril 10, 2016, 11:23 UTC
Berthing dateApril 10, 2016, 13:57 UTC
Unberthing dateMay 11, 2016, 11:00 UTC
RMS releaseMay 11, 2016, 13:19 UTC
Time berthed30 days, 21 hours, 3 minutes
Payload
BEAM
Mass3,136 kg (6,914 lb)
Pressurised1,723 kg (3,799 lb)
Unpressurised1,413 kg (3,115 lb)

NASA SpX-8 mission patch
 

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.

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.

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