science

SpaceX CRS-11

SpaceX CRS-11 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand SpaceX CRS-11 rather than just read about it. In short: SpaceX CRS-11, also known as SpX-11, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, launched successfully on 3 June 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX.

Key takeaways

SpaceX CRS-11 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect SpaceX CRS-11 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of SpaceX CRS-11 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

SpaceX CRS-11, also known as SpX-11, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, launched successfully on 3 June 2017. The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX. The mission utilized a Falcon 9 launch vehicle and was the first reuse of C106, a CRS Dragon cargo vessel that was previously flown on the CRS-4 mission. CRS-11 was the penultimate of the first twelve missions awarded to SpaceX under the Commercial Resupply Services contract to resupply the International Space Station.

Rocket and spacecraft

The CRS-11 mission was the first time that a Dragon spacecraft has been reused, helping SpaceX to scale back its production line and shift focus to Dragon 2. CRS-11 launched aboard a Falcon 9 launch vehicle on 3 June 2017 at 21:07:38 UTC from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). The spacecraft rendezvoused with the station on 5 June 2017 and conducted a series of orbit adjustment burns to match speed, altitude, and orientation with the ISS. After arriving at the capture point at 13:37 UTC, the vehicle was snared at 13:52 UTC by the Canadarm2, operated by Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer. It was berthed to the Harmony module at 16:07 UTC. The Falcon 9 first stage landed successfully on Landing Zone 1, making it the fifth successful touch down on land and the 11th overall. The CRS-11 Dragon remained attached to the ISS for just over 27 days. Having been filled with around 2,708 kg (5,970 lb) of cargo, Dragon was unberthed from the station on 2 July 2017 at approximately 18:00 UTC. It was moved to its release position by Canadarm2, but poor sea conditions forced a delay to the following day. On 3 July 2017, at 06:41 UTC, crew members commanded Canadarm2 to release Dragon, and soon after the spacecraft began a series of thruster firings to move it away from the station. About five hours after departing from ISS, Dragon closed its guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) bay door and conducted a 10-minute deorbit burn. Immediately after, the spacecraft jettisoned its cargo trunk and oriented itself for reentry. Dragon splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California at 12:12 UTC.

Payload NASA has contracted for the CRS-11 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule. CRS-11 carried a total of 2,708 kg (5,970 lb) of material into orbit. This included 1,665 kg (3,671 lb) of pressurised cargo with packaging bound for the International Space Station, and 1,002 kg (2,209 lb) of unpressurised cargo composed of three external station experiments: Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER), MUSES and Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA). The following is a breakdown of cargo bound for the ISS:

Science investigations: 1,069 kg (2,357 lb) Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) - a NASA- and ORBITEC-developed payload built in Madison, Wisconsin. APH is a fully automated facility that is used to conduct plant bioscience research on the ISS. Crew supplies: 242 kg (534 lb) Vehicle hardware: 199 kg (439 lb) Spacewalk equipment: 56 kg (123 lb) Computer resources: 27 kg (60 lb) External payloads: Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA): 325 kg (717 lb) Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER): 372 kg (820 lb) Multiple User System for Earth Sensing (MUSES): 305 kg (672 lb) A constellation of five CubeSats was also carried on the mission as part of Birds-1, one each from the countries of Japan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, and Mongolia. The satellites from Bangladesh (BRAC ONNESHA), Ghana (GhanaSat-1), and Mongolia (Mazaalai) were those countries' first satellites in space.

Gallery

See also Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station List of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches 2017 in spaceflight

References

External links Media related to SpaceX CRS-11 at Wikimedia Commons Dragon website at SpaceX.com Commercial Resupply Services at nasa.gov

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with SpaceX CRS-11

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what SpaceX CRS-11 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to SpaceX CRS-11 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about SpaceX CRS-11 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of SpaceX CRS-11

In research: SpaceX CRS-11 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses SpaceX CRS-11 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: SpaceX CRS-11 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics SpaceX Dragon 1, SpaceX payloads contracted by NASA, Spacecraft launched by Falcon 9 Full Thrust rockets, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for SpaceX CRS-11 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study SpaceX CRS-11 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what SpaceX CRS-11 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain SpaceX CRS-11 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is SpaceX CRS-11 in simple terms?

Why does SpaceX CRS-11 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study SpaceX CRS-11?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on SpaceX CRS-11.