Hello!
RFTSat is going to launch in less than 1 week! RFTSat will be delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) as cargo aboard a Space-X Falcon 9 rocket. It will be stored on the station for about 1 week and then its dispenser (a spring-loaded box that holds RFTSat) will be bolted to the hatch of a Cygnus resupply vehicle. The Cygnus vehicle will un-dock from the ISS, propoel itself to a higher altitude, and then release RFTSat into orbit. If you are interested, you can live stream the launch of RFTSat on NASA TV. Here is the NASA TV schedule is here is the main NASA TV page for streaming. Details are as follows:
RFTSat Launch: July 21, Sunday
5 p.m. – Replay of SpaceX CRS-18 What’s On Board Briefing (All Channels)
7 p.m. – Coverage of the SpaceX CRS-18 Launch; launch is scheduled at 7:35 p.m. EDT. SpaceX CRS-18 is a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (All Channels)
Deployment of Cygnus Vehicle from ISS (with RFTSat mounted on the hatch): July 27, Saturday
12 p.m. – Coverage of the Departure of the Northrop Grumman Cygnus CRS-11 Cargo Craft from the International Space Station; release time is is 12:20 p.m. EDT (All Channels)
Joshua Griffin, PhD
Associate Professor of Engineering
Northwest Nazarene University