Launch News SpaceX Falcon 9 F3 COTS2+ Updates

[Urwumpe]

Is that some kind of gas joke? :rofl:

Sure it is. The DGs are extremely light for their displaced volume. :lol:

 

[orb]

Dragon has been de-mated.

 

[Marvin42]

from NASA TV:

 

[IronRain]

Dragon is released and free from the robotic arm

 

[N_Molson]

Departure burns in progress :

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012
0955 GMT (5:55 a.m. EDT)

The distance between Dragon and the space station is about 100 meters, 0r 328 feet.

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012
0952 GMT (5:52 a.m. EDT)

The second departure burn is complete. Dragon will soon re-orient itself in a yaw maneuver before a third separation rocket firing.

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012
0950 GMT (5:50 a.m. EDT)

The first of three rocket burns have been completed to steer Dragon away from the International Space Station. The station crew issued a departure command on a control panel to send the spacecraft away.

Third and last departure burn complete. The crew had its last sight of the Dragon as the night is falling.

 

[orb]

Screencaps from the release:

SPACE.com: SpaceX's Private Dragon Supply Ship Departs Space Station

Florida Today: Live: SpaceX Dragon capsule on its way back to Earth

RIA Novosti: Dragon Commercial Cargo Craft Undocks from ISS

Universe Today: Dragon Heading to Ocean Splashdown

Discovery News: SpaceX Dragon Capsule Departs Space Station

 

[orb]

SpaceX Dragon Departs the Station

 

[Codz]

Deorbit coverage started.

 

[FADEC]

Deorbit coverage started.

I won't miss even one second until the USA has got a working spacecraft this evening, and a capsule returning from a significant mission for the first time since 1975

 

[N_Molson]

OK so if I didn't get lost with the time zones, splashdown is scheduled in roughly 120 minutes.

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012
1321 GMT (9:21 a.m. EDT)

The engine burn to begin Dragon's descent is due to begin in about 90 minutes, aiming the capsule for a splashdown point about 560 miles west of Baja California, where three recovery boats contracted by SpaceX are on station to receive the capsule.

Dragon's de-orbit burn is set for 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT), setting up the spacecraft to plunge back into Earth's atmosphere at 17,000 mph, flying from northwest to southeast over the North Pacific before deploying drogue parachutes and main chutes.

Dragon will also jettison its trunk, an unpressurized section which houses the craft's solar panels, at 11:09 a.m. EDT (1509 GMT). The trunk will burn up in the atmosphere.

The craft's Draco thrusters will periodically fire during re-entry to refine Dragon's trajectory to reach the desired landing zone in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

The capsule's drogue stabilization parachutes will deploy at an altitude of 45,000 feet (***) at 11:35 a.m. EDT (1535 GMT). Three 116-foot main parachutes will unfurl 10,000 feet (****) above the water at 11:36 a.m. EDT (1536 GMT).

Dragon is designed to splash down at a vertical speed of about 11 mph(*). SpaceX says the craft can safely land even it one of its main parachutes fails.

American Marine is providing the vessels for the recovery. A 185-foot barge with a crane will lift the capsule aboard its deck for the voyage back to port. An 80-foot crew ship and two 25-foot inflatable recovery boats are also in the flotilla.

About a dozen SpaceX engineers and a four-person dive team will assist with Dragon's recovery from the sea.

Once the Dragon spacecraft is aboard the primary barge, the fleet will sail for the Port of Los Angeles, where crews will access a limited amount of the capsule's more than 1,300 pounds (*****) of cargo returning from the space station.

The early access is a demonstration by SpaceX for NASA in preparation for future flights, which may carry sensitive biological samples or experiments requiring quick examination.

SpaceX will transport Dragon to its test site in McGregor, Texas, for post-flight processing and to offload the rest of its cargo.

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012
1030 GMT (6:30 a.m. EDT)

SpaceX will soon close Dragon's navigation bay door to prepare for the ship's re-entry. The compartment holds the spacecraft's thermal and laser rendezvous sensors, star tracker system, and the grapple fixture used by the space station's robotic arm.

The closure of the bay door is a critical step to ensure Dragon can withstand up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit(**) during the peak heating of re-entry.

(*) 11 mph ~= 4.92 m/s.
(**) 3,000 °F ~= 1,922.04 °K ~= 1,648.89 °C
(***) 45,000 feet ~= 13 716 meters
(****) 10,000 feet = 3048 meters
(*****) 1,300 pounds ~= 589.67 kilograms

Valuable info for concerned addon developers

 

[orb]

OK so if I didn't get lost with the time zones, splashdown is scheduled in roughly 120 minutes.

[highlight]Splashdown [eventtimer]2012-5-31 15:44:23?in|was;%c% %d% day(s), %h% hour(s), %m% minute(s), %ss%[/eventtimer] second(s)[eventtimer]2012-5-31 15:44:23?.| ago.;%c%[/eventtimer][/highlight]



SPACE.com: SpaceX's Dragon Space Capsule Headed Back to Earth

Aviation Week: ISS Astronauts Release SpaceX Dragon Capsule

 

[N_Molson]

Orb, you read in my thoughts :lol: :thumbup:

THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2012
1355 GMT (9:55 a.m. EDT)

SpaceX mission control in California is "go" for Dragon's deorbit burn at 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT).

Controllers are setting up the spacecraft for the burn of its Draco thrusters, which will fire for 9 minutes, 50 seconds, to slow Dragon's velocity by about 223 mph (*). That's enough to allow the ship to drop from orbit and enter Earth's atmosphere.

(*) 223 mph ~= 99.68992 m/s. Given the "about" word, I'd guess that the target is exactly 100 m/s.

 

[Codz]

Great orbital views of Earth from the ISS.

---------- Post added at 02:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:28 PM ----------

Dragon deorbit burn in about 2 minutes.

 

[FADEC]

It feels like one of those days when everybody was watching NASA TV to see the Shuttle return from space

Can't wait to see live coverage of the first manned Dragon splashdown...

 

[Codz]

Dragon starting to enter atmosphere...

---------- Post added at 03:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 PM ----------

P-3 Orion footage.

---------- Post added at 03:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:34 PM ----------

Drogue deployment!

---------- Post added at 03:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:35 PM ----------

Main chutes deployed!

 

[N_Molson]

Too bad that clouds allow nothing but blurry IR imagery...

 

[Codz]

Better than what I thought we'd get though.

 

[FADEC]

Mission Accomplished!

Congratulations to SpaceX, and to NASA; to anyone who worked on this flawless storybook mission.

 

[Codz]

Splashdown! Congratulations to NASA and SpaceX!:thumbup:

 

[N_Molson]

Still, I'm a bit disappointed... I was expecting a live view of the splashdown.