Welcome to the CRS-6 launch discussion and updates thread!

The launch is currently set for April 13 20:33 UTC / 16:33 EDT April 14 20:10:47 UTC. For other time zones, see the SpaceX Stats countdown page which lets you select your local time zone. The static fire has taken place and no issues have been reported (yet). I'm excited to be hosting another thread, and with school winding down I might actually be able to enjoy this launch stress free! Let's go SpaceX!

At this launch we have a social media representative, /u/enzo32ferrari, who will be asking questions and keeping us up to date with the goings-on at the Cape. He'll be posting pictures at the Social Media Thread

See the individual sections below for more information! Enjoy!

Official Launch, Landing, & Rendezvous Updates

When this thread gets too long, previous updates as comments will be linked here.

Mission

The SpaceX CRS-6 mission will see Falcon 9 launch Dragon (SpaceX's cargo spacecraft) and thousands of kilograms of cargo & consumables to the ISS as part of a $1.6 billion, 12 flight contract signed with NASA called "Commercial Resupply Services" - after being berthed to the ISS starting at 5am EDT on the 15th, Dragon will stay at the ISS for approximately 5 weeks before reentering and splashing down off the coast of California in the Pacific ocean. For more information about the mission, refer to the CRS-6 mission presskit.

However, following stage separation approximately 3 minutes after launch, the first stage will maneuver and orient itself to conduct a post-mission landing test attempt on a barge named "Just Read the Instructions". This involves three burns of the Merlin 1D engines, called the boostback burn, the reentry burn, and the landing burn. Should everything go to plan, hypersonic grid fins will deploy to the active position and guide the vehicle down to the barge, where just before touchdown, the landing legs will deploy, and with the last burn, come to a stop at 0 metres elevation at a velocity of 0m/s. Please remember however there is no guarantee of success here. The profile was posted by SpaceX a few days ago, and is viewable here. For more information and to answer your questions, please read the CRS-6 FAQ that /u/Echologic prepared.

This is SpaceX's fourth launch of the year, the 17th launch of Falcon 9, their 22nd launch overall, and their 6th of 12 operational Dragon resupply missions.

Watch, Participate, & NASA TV Schedule

You can watch the launch live on both SpaceX's Stream here, where coverage will begin at approximately 4:00pm EDT, and on NASA TV here (Ustream alternative). In addition to participating in this live thread, you can also:

• Get live comments & updates using reddit-stream.com feed here, and
• Chat on our official /r/SpaceX IRC #spacex at irc.esper.net

Please remember to post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here, rather than as a separate post too. Thanks!

Other Useful Links

• Current pre-mission briefing
• SpaceXStats CRS-6 Launch Countdown, courtesy of /u/EchoLogic
• Hazard & Barge Location Map for CRS-6, courtesy of /u/darga89
• Commonly Used Acronyms that may be referred to in this thread
• Our entire Frequently Asked Questions Wiki page
• SpaceX FM, courtesy of /u/lru (a.k.a. What's the cool music that SpaceX is playing?!)
• Current weather forecast & go probability, courtesy of the 45th AF Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral.

Watching the Launch

• Official SpaceX Stream
• LiveStream Direct
• Official SpaceX YouTube
• NasaTV
• VLC HD
• VLC Non-HD

Previous /r/SpaceX Live Events and Videos

• Now hosted at the Launches page on the Wiki

Remember to switch the comment ordering to "New" to follow in real time!

• Auto-Updating Comment Stream