The OG2 satellite being prepared for testing. Credit: ORBCOMM
The satellite that was launched to orbit as a secondary payload by the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on October 7, 2012 has deorbited, falling back to Earth. The ORBCOMM OG2 satellite was a prototype communications satellite that was launched along with the Dragon capsule for the CRS-1 resupply mission to the International Space Station. The satellite was sent into the wrong orbit as a result of “a pre-imposed safety check required by NASA,” ORBCOMM said today in a press release, after the engine anomaly where one of the rocket’s nine Merlin engines, Engine 1, lost pressure suddenly and an engine shutdown command was issued. The rocket was prevented from performing a second burn for safety reasons and the satellite was left in a lower orbit than intended.
“The safety check was designed to protect the International Space Station and its crew,” the ORBCOMM press release said. “Had ORBCOMM been the primary payload on this mission, as planned for the upcoming launches, we believe the OG2 prototype would have reached the desired orbit.”
ORBCOMM had said earlier they were checking into the possibility of whether onboard propulsion could be used to boost the OG2 into a higher orbit, but obviously that was unsuccessful. They did say today, however that while the OG2 was in orbit for its much-shortened time frame, they were able to obtain engineering data and “made significant strides in testing various hardware components,” including an antenna that was deployed and basic functions of the satellite that were successfully turned on.
The company added that with the verifications they were able to achieve, they can now forge ahead and focus on completing and launching the more OG2 satellites, and they plan on using SpaceX to deliver them to orbit. But next time the satellites will be the primary mission payloads on two planned Falcon 9 launches, one in mid-2013 and another in 2014, putting them directly into their operational orbit.
“We appreciate the complexity and work that SpaceX put into this launch,” stated Marc Eisenberg, ORBCOMM’s CEO. “SpaceX has been a supportive partner, and we are highly confident in their team and technology.”
The OG2 satellite was supposed be in a final 750×750 km orbit, but the company didn’t verify the orbit it did end up in. According to Jonathan’s Space Report, OG2 was ejected at 0137 UTC into a 203×323 km orbit, instead of its planned 350×750 km insertion orbit. Another satellite tracker, T.S. Kelso said via Twitter that it was in a 318 x 194km orbit.
A call to ORBCOMM to verify the orbit and location of de-orbit wasn’t immediately returned.
The launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sending the Dragon capsule to orbit. Credit: KSC Twitter Feed
SpaceX has successfully launched the first official Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station. The commercial company’s Falcon 9 rumbled rocket to life at 8:35 EDT on Oct 7 (00:35 UTC Oct. 8) in a picture perfect launch, sending the Dragon capsule on its way in the first of a dozen operational missions to deliver supplies to the orbiting laboratory. The launch took place at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, just a few miles south of the space shuttle launch pads.
“This was a critical event for NASA and the nation tonight,” said NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden after the launch. “We are once again launching spacecraft from American soil with supplies that the ISS astronauts need.”
Watch the launch video below:
All the major milestones of the launch ticked off in perfect timing and execution, and the Dragon capsule is now in orbit with its solar arrays deployed. The Dragon capsule separated from the Falcon 9 about 10 minutes and 24 seconds after liftoff. Dragon should arrive at the ISS on Oct. 10 and the crew will begin berthing operations after everything checks out.
All three members of the current ISS crew were able to watch the launch live via a NASA uplink to the ISS, and Commander Suni Williams passed on her congratulations to the SpaceX team, saying “We are ready to grab Dragon!”
Williams and astronaut Akihiko Hoshide will use the CanadArm 2 to grapple the Dragon capsule around 7:22 a.m. EDT (11:22 UTC) Wednesday, moving it to a berthing at the Earth-facing port of the forward Harmony module.
Even though SpaceX sent the Dragon to the ISS in May, that was considered a demonstration flight and this flight is considered the first operational mission.
“No question, we are very excited,” said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell just before the launch. “Everyone was very excited in May and we are very much looking forward to moving forward with the operational missions.”
Dragon is carrying approximately 450 kg (1,000 pounds) of supplies, including food, water, scientific experiments and Space Station parts. There are also 23 student experiments from the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) involving 7,420 pre-college students engaged in formal microgravity experiment design, according to SSEP director Dr. Jeff Goldstein.
SpaceX and NASA revealed this weekend a special treat is on board a new freezer called GLACIER (General Laboratory Active Cryogenic ISS Experiment Refrigerator): Blue Bell ice cream, a brand that is a favorite of astronauts training at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The freezer will be used to return frozen science experiments to Earth.
In the next three days, Dragon will perform systems checks, and start a series of Draco thruster firings to reach the International Space Station.
Dragon will return a total of 750 kg (1,673 pounds) of supplies and hardware to the ground. NASA says Dragon’s capability to return cargo from the station “is critical for supporting scientific research in the orbiting laboratory’s unique microgravity environment, which enables important benefits for humanity and vastly increases understanding of how humans can safely work, live and thrive in space for long periods. The ability to return frozen samples is a first for this flight and will be tremendously beneficial to the station’s research community. Not since the space shuttle have NASA and its international partners been able to return considerable amounts of research and samples for analysis.”
Dragon is currently scheduled to return to Earth at the end of the month, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on October 29.
1000 SpaceX employees watch Falcon 9 and Dragon launch, at the Hawthorne, California headquarter. Credit: SpaceX
Taking a cue from the Mars Science Laboratory “Mohawk Guy” this SpaceX employee watching from Hawthorne sports a blue mohawk with a SpaceX logo shaved on her head. Credit: SpaceX.
Here’s a shorter video version of the launch from SpaceX:
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon spacecraft is rolled out to the company’s launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Credit: SpaceX
There will be more Dragons in space! The SpaceX Dragon’s next launch to the International Space Station has been scheduled for Sunday, October 7, 2012, NASA and SpaceX announced today. This will be the first of 12 contracted flights by SpaceX to resupply the space station and marks the second trip by a Dragon to the station, following a successful demonstration mission in May.
NASA said they have confirmed the status and readiness of the Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon cargo spacecraft for the SpaceX CRS-1 mission, as well as the space station’s readiness to receive Dragon.
Dragon will be filled with about 450 kg (1,000 pounds) of supplies. This includes materials to support the 166 investigations planned for the station’s Expedition 33 crew, including 63 new science investigations. The Dragon will return about 330 kg (734 lbs) of scientific materials, including results from human research, biotechnology, materials and educational experiments, as well as about 230 kg (504 lbs) of space station hardware.
Materials being launched on Dragon will support experiments in plant cell biology, human biotechnology and various materials technology demonstrations, among others. One experiment, called Micro 6, will examine the effects of microgravity on the opportunistic yeast Candida albicans, which is present on all humans. Another experiment, called Resist Tubule, will evaluate how microgravity affects the growth of cell walls in a plant called Arabidopsis. About 50 percent of the energy expended by terrestrial-bound plants is dedicated to structural support to overcome gravity. Understanding how the genes that control this energy expenditure operate in microgravity could have implications for future genetically modified plants and food supply. Both Micro 6 and Resist Tubule will return with the Dragon at the end of its mission.
Expedition 33 Commander Sunita Williams of NASA and Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency will use the CanadArm2 to grapple the Dragon following its rendezvous with the station on Wednesday, Oct. 10. They will attach the Dragon to the Earth-facing port of the station’s Harmony module for a few weeks while crew members unload cargo and load experiment samples for return to Earth.
Dragon is scheduled to return in late October, and splash down via parachute in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California.
SpaceX has released a cool video (above) recapping the mission highlights of the historic May 22 blastoff of the firm’s Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft that went on to become the first privately developed vehicle in history to successfully dock to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 25, 2012.
Dragon was captured with a robotic arm operated by astronauts Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers working in tandem aboard the ISS as it approached the massive orbiting lab complex and was then berthed at an Earth facing port.
Dragon was the first US spacecraft to attach to the ISS since the retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle program last July 2011 following the STS-135 mission of shuttle Atlantis. The 14.4 ft (4.4 meter) long resupply vehicle delivered over 1000 pounds of non-critical gear, food, clothing and science equipment to the ISS.
After spending six days at the ISS, the Dragon undocked and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean some 560 miles off the coast of California on May 31, 2012.
Image Caption: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket clears the tower after liftoff at 3:44 a.m. on May 22, 2012 from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.,on the first commercial mission to loft the Dragon cargo resupply vehicle to the International Space Station. Credit: Ken Kremer/www.kenkremer.com
The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo carrier were designed, developed and built by Hawthorne, Calif., based SpaceX Corporation, founded in 2002 by CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.
SpaceX signed a contract with NASA in 2006 to conduct twelve Falcon 9/Dragon resupply missions to carry about 44,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS at a cost of some $1.6 Billion over the next few years. The first operational Dragon CRS mission is slated to blast off around October 2012.
Read my Universe Today articles starting here for further details about the historic SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon mission to the ISS.
1st picture of the Dragon spacecraft as it floats in the ocean awaiting recovery ships. Dragon splashed down successfully on May 31, 2012 at 11:42 a.m. EDT in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of California. In a carefully timed sequence of events, dual drogue parachutes deploy at 45,000 feet to stabilize and slow the spacecraft. Full deployment of the drogues triggers the release of the main parachutes, each 116 feet in diameter, at about 10,000 feet, with the drogues detaching from the spacecraft. Main parachutes further slow the spacecraft's descent to approximately 16 to 18 feet per second. Credit: Michael Altenhofen
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Concluding a perfectly executed and history making test flight, the first private spacecraft ever to visit and dock at the International Space Station (ISS) performed a picture perfect splashdown at 11:42 a.m. EDT (1542 GMT) today, May 31, in the Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of Baja, California, some 560 miles southwest of Los Angeles to cap the opening to a historic new Era in Space Exploration.
Dragon is the linchpin in NASA’s bold Commercial Crew and Cargo program aimed at significantly driving down the cost of transporting cargo and crews to low Earth orbit by using private commercial companies to foster competition and innovation in the free market setting of the new, post-shuttle Era of Commercial Space Transportation.
NASA aircraft were able to transmit live video of the last few minutes of the Dragon’s breathtaking descent, unfurling of the trio of parachutes and ocean splashdown – pretty much on target at 27 degrees latitude and 127 degrees west longitude.
The official mission elapsed time on landing was 9 days, 7 hours and 58 minutes.
Splashdown of the Dragon cargo craft took place barely 6 hours after departing the orbiting lab complex following detachment from the station using the station robotic arm. The ISS astronauts released the craft from the grip of the station’s robot arm at 5:49 a.m. EST (949 GMT) this morning, May 31.
Screen shot of Dragon after May 31 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA TV
The two spacecraft were soaring some 250 miles (400 km) high above the Indian Ocean east of Africa at the moment of release and departure. Altogether, Dragon spent 5 days, 16 hours and 5 minutes mated to the station.
The gumdrop shaped Dragon capsule is 4.4 meters (14.4 ft) tall, and 3.66 m (12 ft) in diameter and has an internal pressurized volume of about 350 cubic feet .
The Dragon cargo resupply capsule was built by SpaceX and is being retrieved from the ocean by a flotilla of three recovery ships. The ships reached Dragon, detached the chutes and are in the process of recovery. It will take about two days to deliver the craft to the port of Los Angeles where the most critical cargo items will be removed for quick shipment to NASA. The capsule will then be shipped to SpaceX’s McGregor,Texas facility for post-flight evaluation.
Dragon is the world’s first commercial spacecraft whose purpose is to carry supplies to and from the ISS and partially replace the cargo capabilities previously performed by NASA’s now retired fleet of space shuttle orbiters. Dragon was designed, developed and built by Hawthorne, Calif., based SpaceX Corporation, founded in 2002 by CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.
“This has been a fantastic day,” said Musk at a post splashdown briefing for reporters. “I want to thank NASA and the whole SpaceX team for an amazing job.”
“I’m really proud of everyone. This really couldn’t have gone better. We’re looking forward to doing lots more missions in the future and continuing to upgrade the technology and push the frontier of space transportation.”
“In baseball terminology this would be a grand slam. I am overwhelmed with joy.”
The de-orbit burn to drop Dragon out of orbit took place precisely on time at 10:51 a.m. EDT for a change in velocity of 100 m/sec about 246 miles above the Indian Ocean directly to the south of India as the craft was some 200 miles in front of the ISS.
Screen shot of Dragon after May 31 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Credit: NASA TV
The Draco thruster firing lasted 9 minutes and 50 seconds and sent Dragon plummeting through the Earth’s atmosphere where it had to survive extreme temperatures exceeding 3000 degrees F (1600 degrees C) before landing.
The Dragon capsule is the first US vehicle of any kind to arrive at the ISS since the July 2011 forced retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program resulted in the total loss of all US capability to send cargo and humans crews to the massive orbiting outpost.
SpaceX signed a contract with NASA in 2006 to conduct twelve Falcon 9/Dragon resupply missions to carry about 44,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS at a cost of some $1.6 Billion over the next few years.
This was the third test flight of the Falcon 9 rocket and the first test flight of the Dragon in this vastly upgraded configuration with solar panels. A future variant of Dragon will eventually blast US astronauts to space and restore US crew capability – perhaps by 2017 thanks to repeated cuts to NASA’s budget.
Only four entities have ever sent a spacecraft to dock at the ISS – the United States, Russia, Japan and the European Union. SpaceX is the first commercial entity to accomplish the same feat.
The precedent setting Dragon mission has opened a new era in spaceflight by giving birth to the first fully commercial mission to the orbiting space station complex and unlocking vast new possibilities for its utilization in science and exploration.
After a three day chase, Dragon arrived at the ISS on May 25 and was deftly berthed at an open Earth-facing port on the Harmony Node 2 module after being dramatically captured by the astronaut crew using the station’s robotic arm in a landmark event in space history as the Dragon and the ISS were passing about 251 miles above Earth. Capture was confirmed at a mission elapsed time of 3 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes and 23 seconds.
Working in tandem, NASA astronaut Don Pettit and ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers snared the Dragon craft as it was drifting in free space about 10 m (32 ft) away with the 18 m (58 ft) long Canadian robot arm at 9:56 a.m. EDT and parked the first privately built capsule to an open port at 12:02 p.m. EDT on May 25.
The astronauts opened the hatch and ‘Entered the Dragon’ for the first time a day later on May 26 and then proceeded to unload the stowed cargo and refill it for the return trip to Earth.
On this first NASA sponsored Dragon test flight to rendezvous and dock at the ISS, the cargo craft was packed with 460 kilograms (1014 lbs) of non-critical cargo including 306 kg (674 lbs) of food and crew provisions; 21 kg (46 lbs) of science experiment; 123 kg (271 lbs) prepositioned cargo bags to be used for future flights; and 10 kg (22 lbs) of assorted computer supplies and a laptop.
Dragon splashed down successfully on May 31, 2012 at 11:42 a.m. EDT in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of California. In a carefully timed sequence of events, dual drogue parachutes deployed at 45,000 feet to stabilize and slow the spacecraft. Full deployment of the drogues triggers the release of the main parachutes, each 116 feet in diameter, at about 10,000 feet, with the drogues detaching from the spacecraft. Main parachutes further slow the spacecraft's descent to approximately 16 to 18 feet per second.
Unlike the other Russian, European and Japanese cargo freighters that service the ISS and then disintegrate on reentry, the SpaceX Dragon is uniquely equipped with a state of the art PICA-X heat shield that allows it to plunge safely through the Earth’s atmosphere and survive the fiery temperatures exceeding more than 3000 degrees F (1600 degrees C).
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket clears the tower after liftoff at 3:44 a.m. on May 22, 2012 from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on the first commercial mission to loft the Dragon cargo resupply vehicle to the International Space Station. The Dragon mission was a resounding success from launch to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on May 31 at 11:42 a.m. EDT. Credit: Ken Kremer/www.kenkremer.com
The down mass capability restores another critical capability lost with the forced retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiters in July 2011. The astronauts filled Dragon with about 620 kilograms (1367 pounds) of science experiments, trash and non-critical items on this historic test flight.
The first operational Dragon resupply mission to the ISS could blast off as early as September, said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew and Cargo Program.
“We’ll await the final post flight report to make the determination that this was an extremely successful mission. But they should be well on their way to starting [delivery] services,” said Lindenmoyer at the briefing. “Of course, officially we will look at the post flight data and make an official determination. But I would say at this point it looks like 100 percent success.”
SpaceX Dragon has undocked from the International Space Station and is on course for May 31 splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the Baja California coast. Credit: NASA
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History’s first commercial cargo ship ever to visit the International Space Station (ISS) has safely and successfully departed the orbiting lab complex after astronauts released the craft from the grip of the station’s robotic arm at 5:49 a.m. EST (949 GMT) this morning, May 31, 2012 for the return trip to Earth to conclude a precedent setting stay that fully accomplished all objectives.
“Dragon is Free !” announced Josh Byerly, a NASA spokesman at Houston Mission control a short while ago as NASA astronauts Joe Acaba and Don Pettit released the first ever private spacecraft to attach to the ISS into a free drift mode for a fiery plunge through Earth’s atmosphere and splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California less than 6 hours from now.
“Everything looking safe and sound.”
The two spacecraft were some 250 miles (400 km) high above the Indian Ocean east of Africa at the moment of release and departure. Altogether, Dragon spent 5 days, 16 hours and 5 minutes mated to the station.
A minute later Dragon successfully conducted its first departure burn to back away from the massive orbiting complex followed shortly thereafter by two more short pulsed firings of the capsules thrusters. The last of the three short separation burns took place at 6:02 a.m. EDT.
Dragon released from ISS robot arm on May 31. Credit: NASA
The Dragon then passed outside the imaginary 200 meter (656 ft) circular zone known as the Keep-Out-Sphere (KOS) and was placed under the exclusive control of SpaceX mission controllers with NASA control duties completed
The next major event is the de-orbit burn scheduled for 10:51 a.m. EDT which is a 100 m/sec burn lasting 9 minutes and 50 seconds. The thruster firing will send Dragon plummeting through the Earth’s atmosphere at 17000 MPH where it must survive temperatures exceeding 3000 degrees F before landing.
Earlier this morning, Acaba and Pettit unhooked the final 16 motorized bolts and latches holding Dragon firmly to the station at the common berthing mechanism and detached Dragon from the station’s Earth facing Harmony node at 4:07 a.m. EDT using the 18 m (58 ft) Canadian robot arm. The astronauts worked at robotic work stations inside the multi-windowed Cupola observation dome.
Dragon Splashdown Zone
The SpaceX Dragon is now headed for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 11:44 a.m. EST (1544 GMT) some 490 nautical miles southwest of Los Angeles off the West Coast of California.
SpaceX has dispatched three recovery vessels to retrieve Dragon from the ocean.
Following launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida on May 22, Dragon arrived at the ISS on May 25 and the astronauts opened the hatch on May 26 and then proceeded to unload the cargo and refill it for the return trip.
Dragon is the world’s first commercial spacecraft and was built by Hawthorne, Calif., based SpaceX Corporation, founded in 2002 by CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.
“This is SpaceX’s second demonstration flight under a 2006 Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement with NASA to develop the capability to carry cargo to and from the International Space Station’” says SpaceX spokeswoman Kirstin Grantham.
“With the first demonstration flight, in December of 2010, Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to orbit the Earth and safely return. During that mission SpaceX conducted similar recovery operations to retrieve Dragon from a water landing in the Pacific. Demonstration missions are conducted to determine potential issues so that they might be addressed; by their very nature, they carry a significant risk. If any aspect of the mission is not successful, SpaceX will learn from the experience and try again.”
Live NASA TV coverage of the Dragon splashdown resumes at 10:15 a.m. EDT
Updated Dragon Return Timeline from SpaceX – (times are approximate and subject to change)
Time (Pacific) Event
02:49 Dragon released by the station’s robotic arm
02:36 Dragon’s Draco thrusters fire first departure burn
07:51 Draco thrusters fire deorbit burn
08:09 Dragon’s trunk is jettisoned
08:35 Drogue parachutes are deployed
08:36 Main parachutes are deployed
08:44 Dragon lands in the Pacific
SpaceX Dragon was grappled by robot arm, on May 25, 2012 and then became the first commercial space capsule in history to be connected to the International Space Station. Dragon will be detached on May 31 and splashdown hours later at about 11:44 a.m. EDT several hundered kilometers (mi) off the coast of California. Credit: NASA
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The historic flight of the first private spaceship to ever connect to the International Space Station (ISS) has entered its waning hours and by all accounts it’s been a resounding success thus far ahead of the imminent return trip to Earth.
All objectives have been fully accomplished and all that remains is for the unmanned Dragon cargo capsule to be detached from the huge outpost early Thursday morning, May 31, following by a mission ending splashdown and ocean recovery off the coast of California some 6 hours later.
Astronauts living aboard the huge Earth orbiting lab closed the hatches to the SpaceX Dragon capsule earlier today (May 30) and will finish their activities to seal the capsule for a safe departure before going to sleep later today ahead of tomorrow’s momentous final feats on this landmark mission.
Dragon is the world’s first commercial spacecraft and was built by Hawthorne, Calif., based SpaceX Corporation, founded in 2002 by CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.
This view of European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers, Expedition 31 flight engineer, is among the first set of imagery from the crew showing the freshly opened SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. Credit: NASA
NASA and SpaceX described the Dragon’s upcoming unberthing and return to Earth activities at a news media briefing today.
The ISS crew is scheduled to disconnect the Dragon from the Earth-facing Harmony node using the station’s robotic arm at 4:05 a.m. EDT (0805 GMT), said NASA flight director Holly Ridings. They will release the Dragon from the arm’s grip into space at 5:35 a.m. EDT (0935 GMT).
“The Dragon really looks great,” Ridings told Universe Today.
Ridings said that the crew completed virtually “all the cargo [unloading and refilling] operations in a single day on Monday”.
Dragon will fire the first of a series of three small orbit transfer burns starting at 5:36 a.m. EDT (0936 GMT) to back it away from the orbiting lab complex. The big de-orbit burn lasting about 7 minutes is set for 10:51 am, the Dragon trunk will be jettisoned at 11:09 a.m., main chutes deploy at 11:36 a.m. and the splashdown in the Pacific Ocean is due at 11:44 a.m. (1544 GMT) some 490 nautical miles southwest of Los Angeles off the West Coast of California using a flotilla of recovery vessels rented by SpaceX for the ocean retrieval process.
Although SpaceX has demonstrated the capability to safely return Dragon to Earth once before in December 2010, the firm is taking nothing for granted.
“It’s still a very challenging phase of flight,” said SpaceX Dragon Mission Manager John Couluris at the briefing. “Only a few countries have done this so far, so we’re not taking this lightly.”
“It will take about 2 to 3 days to return the capsule to the port of Los Angeles and then to the SpaceX facility in Texas for cargo unloading.”
Unlike the other Russian, European and Japanese cargo freighters that service the ISS and then disintegrate on reentry, the SpaceX Dragon is uniquely equipped with a heat shield (made of PICA-X) that allows it to plunge safely through the Earth’s atmosphere and survive the fiery temperatures exceeding more than 3000 degrees F (1600 degrees C).
The down mass capability restores another critical capability lost with the forced retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle orbiters in July 2011. The astronauts filled Dragon with about 620 kilograms (1367 pounds) of science experiments, trash and non-critical items on this historic test flight.
The Dragon arrived at the million pound orbiting space lab on May 25. On May 26, the crew opened the hatches and ‘Entered the Dragon’ for the first time.
Look here for a collection of incredible images snapped by European ISS astronaut Andre Kuipers who berthed Dragon at an open parking port on the ISS after it was snared with the 18 m (58 ft) Canadian robot arm by NASA astronaut Don Pettit.
Ridings said the astronauts used the robot arm to thoroughly inspect the Dragon’s exterior, trunk space and solar arrays.
“The results were very positive and our models were very accurate and match the on orbit Dragon configuration and clearances. On downstream flights we’ll be using Dextre on the end of the robot arm to reach around into the Dragon’s truck and grab payloads out,” Ridings told Universe Today.
Capturing SpaceX's Dragon. With clouds and land forming a backdrop, the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is grappled by the Canadarm2 robotic arm at the International Space Station. Expedition 31 Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers grappled Dragon at 9:56 a.m. EDT and used the robotic arm to berth Dragon to the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony node at 12:02 p.m. May 25, 2012. Dragon became the first commercially developed space vehicle to be launched to the station to join Russian, European and Japanese resupply craft that service the complex while restoring a U.S. capability to deliver cargo to the orbital laboratory. Dragon is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth on May 31 for retrieval. Credit: NASA
Dragon is the world’s first commercial resupply vehicle. It was launched atop a SpaceX built Falcon 9 booster on May 22 from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
SpaceX signed a contract with NASA in 2006 to conduct twelve Falcon 9/Dragon resupply missions to carry about 44,000 pounds of cargo to the ISS at a cost of some $1.6 Billion over the next several years.
NASA TV will provide live coverage of Dragon’s return to Earth and ocean splash down starting at 2:30 a.m. EDT.
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Dragon Return Timeline from SpaceX – (times are approximate and subject to change)
5/31/12
Time (Pacific) — Event
01:05 — Dragon uninstalled using station’s robotic arm
02:35 — Dragon released by the station’s robotic arm
03:11 — Dragon’s Draco thrusters fire departure burns
04:07 — Unlatch/close/latch GNC door holding sensors
07:51 — Dragon’s Draco thrusters fire deorbit burn
08:09 — Dragon’s trunk is jettisoned
08:35 — Dragon’s drogue parachutes are deployed
08:36 — Dragon’s main parachutes are deployed
08:44 — Dragon lands in the Pacific
ISS Astronaut Trio speak to media from Inside newly docked SpaceX Dragon on May 26. NASA astronaut Don Pettit (right), European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andre Kuipers (center) and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba (left) speak to reporters on May 26, 2012 soon after opening the Dragon’s hatch. Dragon is the first private space capsule to dock at the International Space Station (ISS). Credit: NASA TV
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Just how many astronauts can you cram inside a Dragon ? – think Volkswagen Beetle!
Well at least 6 human space flyers can easily fit inside a SpaceX Dragon vehicle, said NASA Astronaut Don Pettit from aboard the ISS during a Q & A session with reporters on Saturday, May 26. The discussion with the media took place only hours after Pettit’s history making hatch opening to the first private space capsule ever to dock at the International Space Station (ISS).
“We’ve already had all 6 people in here for a brief period,” Pettit told Universe Today during the media session on Saturday, soon after the hatch opening. “We haven’t taken any pictures of all 6 [together] yet.”
NASA astronaut Don Pettit (left), European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andre Kuipers (center) and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba (right) speak to reporters on May 26, 2012 from inside the Dragon capsule soon after opening the hatch from the ISS. Credit: NASA TV
The three current station residents who played the key roles in the milestone events of grappling the Dragon cargo resupply craft with the station’s robotic arm and parking it at an open port on the Harmony Node 2 module on Friday, May 25, spoke to reporters while floating inside Dragon for about 20 minutes all told – including Pettit, ESA Astronaut Andre Kuipers and newly arrived fellow NASA astronaut Joe Acaba.
“There’s not enough room in here to hold a barn dance, but for transportation of crew up and down through Earth’s atmosphere and into space, which is a rather short period of time, there’s plenty of room in here for the envisioned crews,” Pettit told me while soaring some 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth.
Dragon is the world’s first commercial spacecraft to attach to the ISS and was built by SpaceX Corporation, founded in 2002 by CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk.
All three crew members seemed quite pleased with the Dragon’s layout and quite willing to fly aboard a human rated version in the future. SpaceX is designing Dragon to be capable of carrying 7 passengers in the crew configuration – and it looked spacious to me during the media briefing.
Inside of the Dragon module. Beautiful. Spacious, Modern. Blue LEDs. Feels a bit like a sci-fi...
Caption and Photo Credit: Andre Kuipers/ESA/NASA
“I spent quite a bit of time poking around in here this morning, just looking at the engineering and the layout, and I’m very pleased,” said Pettit. “It looks like it carries about as much cargo as I could put in my pickup truck. And it’s roomier than a Soyuz, so flying up in a human-rated Dragon is not going to be an issue.”
The gumdrop shaped Dragon capsule is 4.4 meters (14.4 ft) tall, and 3.66 m (12 ft) in diameter. It has an internal pressurized volume of about 350 cubic feet
On this first NASA sponsored test flight to rendezvous and dock at the ISS it was packed with 460 kilograms (1014 lbs) of non-critical cargo including 306 kg (674 lbs) of food and crew provisions; 21 kg (46 lbs) of science experiment; 123 kg (271 lbs) prepositioned cargo bags to be used for future flights; and 10 kg (22 lbs) of assorted computer supplies and a laptop.
The crew starts unloading Dragon today. It will remain berthed at the million pound orbiting outpost for about 6 days until it is detached on May 31 for a return trip to Earth and splashdown and retrieval in the Pacific Ocean a few hundred km (mi) off the coast of California.
The Dragon launched flawlessly atop a SpaceX built Falcon 9 booster on May 22 from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Since the forced retirement of NASA’s Space Shuttle fleet in July 2011 and for at least the next 3 to 5 years, the only way U.S. astronauts can reach the ISS is aboard ferry flights on the cramped three person Russian Soyuz capsule at a cost of some $60 million per seat to U.S. taxpayers.
SpaceX is one of four private companies receiving NASA funding under the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program and seeking to develop commercial “space taxis” to low Earth orbit.
A human-rated Dragon is one of the vehicles engaged in the on-going competition and vying for a NASA contract. But the first crewed flight to restore US human spaceflight capability has been delayed by years because of repeated slashes to NASA’s budget by the US Congress.
NASA now estimates that the first space taxi – possibly the SpaceX Dragon – won’t fly until about 2017.
Dragon approaching International Space Station (ISS) over Namibia Hours on end monitoring Dragon's approach is no punishment. Here over Namibia. Credit: Andre Kuipers/ESA/NASA
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On Friday, May 25, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) made space history when they deftly reached out with the stations robotic arm and grabbed the approaching SpaceX Dragon resupply carrier and then parked the first ever commercial cargo craft at an open port on the massive lab complex while orbiting some 407 kilometers (253 miles) above Earth – check out the gallery here !
Working in tandem, NASA astronaut Don Pettit and ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers snared the Dragon craft as it was drifting in free space about 10 m (32 ft) away with the 18 m (58 ft) long Canadian robot arm at 9:56 a.m. EDT and connected the first privately built capsule to a parking spot on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony Node 2 module on the ISS at 12:02 p.m. EDT on May 25.
Dragon over the Rocky Mountains. Credit: Andre Kuipers/ESA/NASA
Here’s a gallery of images from Andre Kuipers showing the Dragon’s rendezvous, grappling and docking at the million pound Earth orbiting space station currently inhabited by a crew of 6 astronauts and cosmonauts working as a united team from the US, Russia and the Netherlands and representing humanities tenuous foothold at the High Frontier.
All these photos were taken on May 25, 2012 using a Nikon D2Xs.
Over the next few days, the crew will unload the living provisions, supplies and equipment loaded aboard the Dragon capsule and then refill it with science samples and trash for the return trip to Earth.
Dragon will undock from the ISS on May 31 and splash down hours later off the coast of California in the Pacific Ocean.
And through May 31, you can spot and photograph the Dragon/ISS combo orbiting overhead – read my article here for further details.
Approach to 10 metres. Credit: Andre Kuipers/ESA/NASAManoeuvring Dragon to the docking port. Credit: Andre Kuipers/ESA/NASALike this it looks a bit like a model from a 70's sci-fi film. Credit: Andre Kuipers/ESA/NASADragon and Earth. Credit: Andre Kuipers/ESA/NASATeamwork in the Cupola during Dragon approach - Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers. Credit: ESA/NASA
Dragon is the world’s first commercial resupply vehicle. It was launched flawlessly atop a SpaceX built Falcon 9 booster on May 22 from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
The New Commercial Space Era Streaks Across the Night Sky - Docked Dragon and International Space Station (ISS) at 4:07 AM EDT near Princeton, NJ on May 26, 2012, less than 24 hours after the Dragon was attached to the Harmony node. 25 sec exposure. Credit: Ken Kremer
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This week and this week only you can see the dawn of the new Commercial Space Era with your own eyes – it’s soaring above your head a mere 400 kilometers (250 miles) away. All you have to do is a quick search, hope for clear skies and traipse outside.
Following the historic attachment of the maiden commercial Dragon cargo carrier to the Harmony node on the International Space Station (ISS) on May 25, the massive orbiting laboratory will be shining just a little bit brighter and prouder as it steaks overhead across the sky at 17,500 MPH (32140 KPH).
Dragon and ISS are literally trailblazing the pathway to the new Commercial Space Era for all to see.
So, for a limited time only between right now and the scheduled May 31 undocking of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft from the ISS there will be occasional viewing opportunities to catch the dynamic duo speeding merrily across the night time sky.
And the station crew of 6 astronauts and cosmonauts living aboard just opened the hatch from the ISS and “Entered the Dragon” earlier today, May 26 – To make it even more special !
Many folks have never seen an ISS flyover and I can’t think of a better time than now to get started. I’ve held several ISS Sighting star parties in different US States and everyone is thrilled and amazed at how bright the ISS shines – In fact it’s the brightest object in the night sky other than the Sun and the Moon.
Docked Commercial SpaceX Dragon and International Space Station (ISS) streak across the pre dawn sky at 4:07 AM EDT near Princeton, NJ on May 26, 2012, less than 24 hours after the Dragon was attached to the Harmony node. 25 sec exposure. Credit: Ken Kremer
To determine if there are any favorable sighting opportunities in your area, check out the NASA website on Human Spaceflight Sighting Opportunities – here – for a detailed listing of the precise times, elevations, direction and durations. It’s an easy to use viewing guide. Just plug in the particulars of the country in which you live
ISS streaks over Florida skies at a star party for space enthusiasts around the KSC Quality Inn days prior to SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon blastoff. Credit: Ken Kremer/www.kenkremer.com
Last night I shot some time lapse astrophotos (above) when the gloomy New Jersey clouds finally cleared using a digital SLR and exposure times of 20 to 30 seconds.
Read my eyewitness account of the spectacular pre-dawn May 19 launch of the Dragon resupply vehicle atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida here and the docking here
Now – Go Spot the Dragon and the Station !
and send Ken your blazing Astrophotos to post at Universe Today
