The return journey is scheduled last a little over six hours and after splashing down the Crew Dragon will be recovered and returned to the mainland where it will be physically examined and the data collected by the on board sensors will be analyzed, including the ones connected to the Anthropomorphic Test Device (ATD) nicknamed Ripley. SpaceX developed a landing system on the mainland but at least for now NASA opted for a splash down like its old manned spacecraft and the Dragon space cargo ship. For years the Dragon cargo spacecraft has been the only one that could bring cargoes back to Earth but between a mission several months can pass so it’s useful to use manned spacecraft to bring biological samples as well.Īccording to the schedule, at 7:30 UTC on March 8 the Crew Dragon spacecraft will depart the International Space Station to return to Earth. This possibility, which limits the number of people that can be trasnported, was decided because many biological experiments are carried out on the International Space Station and in some of them the astronauts themselves are the guinea pigs with the consequence that various samples are taken to be sent to Earth as soon as possible to be analyzed. 17, 2019, from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft is targeted for Jan. In the next few days they will be unloaded and some cargoes will be brought back to Earth on the return journey. SpX-DM1 is an uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. The Crew Dragon spacecraft was also used to transport some cargoes for a total of about 180 kg (about 400 lbs). In this test mission the verification that these systems work properly and of the Crew Dragon’s maneuvering possibilities are crucial so the procedure was a bit longer than normal. ![]() Only if everything goes well in the spacecraft’s position and speed they proceed with the next step and in case of problems they can have an abort at every step. ![]() The Station’s safety is the top priority so every little step of the Dragon is checked up. The approach to the Station instead follows a substantially identical procedure. Unlike the Dragon space cargo ship, which gets captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm and driven to one of the International Space Station modules, the Crew Dragon is equipped with an automated docking system that drives it to the International Docking Adapter (IDA). The opening of the hatch is scheduled for 13.45 UTC and all the tasks concerning the Crew Dragon will be completed rather quickly, since its departure is scheduled for March 8. The Crew Dragon spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)Ī little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station’s Harmony module by completing the first leg of its SpX-DM1 (SpaceX Demonstration Mission 1) or SpaceX Demo-1 mission that started yesterday with its launch.
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