Dragon Returns to Earth

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Dragon Returns to Earth

'http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/7069/489334main2012102808h32.jpg

The SpaceX Dragon cargo craft spashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 3:22 p.m. EDT Sunday about 250 miles off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, marking a successful conclusion to the first contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station.

The Dragon capsule will be taken by boat to a port near Los Angeles, where it will be prepared for a return journey to SpaceX's test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing. Some cargo will be removed at the port in California and returned to NASA within 48 hours. This includes a GLACIER freezer packed with research samples collected in the orbiting laboratory's unique microgravity environment. These samples will help advance multiple scientific disciplines on Earth and provide critical data on the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body. The remainder of the cargo will be returned to Texas with the capsule.

The ground team at Mission Control Houston remotely commanded the station’s robotic arm to uninstall Dragon from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node at 7:19 a.m. after Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams removed the bolts and latches of the Common Berthing Mechanism that had secured the cargo craft to the station since Oct 10.

A set of programmed commands to Canadarm2 then maneuvered Dragon out to the 15-meter release point, where Williams and Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide ungrappled Dragon at 9:29 a.m. and backed the arm away.

› View video of SpaceX Dragon departure

'http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/9096/506548mainexp33sandymed.jpg

Dragon delivered 882 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, including 260 pounds of crew supplies, 390 pounds of scientific research, 225 pounds of hardware and several pounds of other supplies. Dragon is returning a total of 1,673 pounds, including 163 pounds of crew supplies, 866 pounds of scientific research, and 518 pounds of vehicle hardware and other hardware.

Dragon launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket Oct. 7 at 8:35 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, beginning NASA's first contracted cargo delivery flight, designated SpaceX CRS-1, to the station.

› Read about SpaceX CRS-1 launch

The mission was the first of at least 12 cargo resupply missions to the space station planned by SpaceX through 2016 under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract.

On Friday, cameras aboard the International Space Station captured views of Hurricane Sandy as it moved through the Bahamas off the east coast of Florida.

› View video of second pass

› View video of first pass

› NASA coverage of Hurricane Sandy

› Follow @Astro_Suni on Twitter

› Visit Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth

› Read more about Expedition 33

Source

[Imaginarynumber1]

Coooooooooool.

I wanna go to space....

[ROGER]

Coooooooooool.

I wanna go to space....

Get the "Lynx " craft up and running and I would consider a low earth orbit trip . I want to go to space in comfort!

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Get the "Lynx " craft up and running and I would consider a low earth orbit trip . I want to go to space in comfort!

Not on the Lynx you won't. It is, like Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, a sub-orbital vehicle only.

The Lynx is XCOR’s entry into the commercial reusable launch vehicle (RLV) market. This two-seat, piloted space transport vehicle will take humans and payloads on a half-hour suborbital flight to 100 km (330,000 feet) and then return safely to a landing at the takeoff runway.

Source: XCOR: About Lynx

Edited October 29, 2012 by Waspie_Dwarf
Added quote and source.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Dragon Departs Space Station

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station, wrapping up 18 days attached to the complex for the cargo craft on its first contracted resupply mission.

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia

[Waspie_Dwarf]

Dragon Capsule Splashes Down

Video of the SpaceX Dragon Capsule splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 28, 2012..

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia