NASA Opens Media Accreditation for Upcoming Space Station Cargo Launch

WASHINGTON, July 12, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media accreditation is open for launch of the next SpaceX commercial cargo resupply services mission to the International Space Station, currently targeted for August.

The uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Media prelaunch and launch activities will take place at Kennedy. Credentialing deadlines are as follows:

• International media without U.S. citizenship must apply by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 25.
• U.S. media must apply by 4:30 p.m. Friday, July 28.

All media accreditation requests should be submitted online.

For questions about accreditation, send email to [email protected]. For other questions, or additional information, contact Kennedy's newsroom at 321-867-2468.

This is SpaceX's twelfth mission under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract. In addition to supplies and equipment, Dragon will deliver several science investigations to the space station, including building on the success of the Cosmic Ray Energetics And Mass (CREAM) balloon flights. The instrument has been transformed for accommodation on the International Space Station. The goal is to extend the energy reach of direct measurements of cosmic rays to the highest energy possible to probe their origin, acceleration and propagation.

The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has been occupied continuously since November 2000. In that time, more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft have visited the orbiting laboratory. The space station remains the springboard to NASA's next great leap in exploration, including future missions to Mars.

For launch countdown coverage, NASA's launch blog, and more information about the mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/spacex

SOURCE NASA