SpaceX Cargo Dragon Undocks from Station for Monday Splashdown
A SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft undocked from the International Docking Adapter on the station’s space-facing port of the Harmony module at 10:40 a.m. EST.
A SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft undocked from the International Docking Adapter on the station’s space-facing port of the Harmony module at 10:40 a.m. EST.
Dragon will now fire its thrusters to move a safe distance from the space station. Controllers will command a deorbit burn Monday, Jan. 24. After re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown about 4:05 p.m., off the coast of Florida near Panama City. NASA TV will not broadcast the splashdown but the agency will provide updates on the space station blog.
Dragon launched Dec. 21 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, arriving at the station less than 24 hours later. The spacecraft delivered more than 6,500 pounds of hardware, research investigations and crew supplies.
NASA TV is Live as SpaceX Cargo Dragon Prepares for Departure
The SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply ship is photographed departing the station on July 8, 2021.
NASA Television and the agency’s website are broadcasting live coverage for the departure of a SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft from the International Space Station.
The spacecraft is filled with more than 4,900 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo to return to Earth to complete SpaceX’s 24th commercial resupply services mission for NASA.
Ground controllers at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, will send commands at 10:35 a.m. for Dragon to undock from the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module Dragon will fire its thrusters to move a safe distance from the station and exit the area of the space station to begin its return to Earth.
Dragon will initiate a deorbit burn Monday, Jan. 24 to begin its re-entry sequence into Earth’s atmosphere then make a parachute-assisted splashdown about 4:05 p.m., off the coast of Florida. NASA TV will not broadcast the splashdown but the agency will provide updates on the space station blog.
Dragon Departure Waits One More Day Due to Adverse Weather
The International Space Station configuration shows the SpaceX Cargo Dragon docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port.
As a result of adverse weather conditions at the targeted splashdown zone off the coast of Florida, SpaceX has waived off today’s planned departure of an upgraded SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft.
SpaceX and NASA are now targeting 10:40 a.m. EST on Sunday, Jan. 23 for undocking from the International Space Station of a SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft filled with more than 4,900 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo.
NASA Television and the agency’s website will broadcast its departure live beginning at 10:15 a.m. EST.
Splashing down off the coast of Florida enables quick transportation of the experiments to NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, allowing researchers to collect data with minimal sample exposure to Earth’s gravity.
Dragon Go for Saturday Departure; Post-Spacewalk Cleanup Continues
A faint aurora and the Earth’s atmospheric glow are pictured above the city lights of Ireland and Great Britain from the space station.
The five astronauts representing the Expedition 66 crew had an off-duty day on Friday while the two cosmonauts continued their post-spacewalk activities. A U.S. resupply ship is also on track to depart the International Space Station on Saturday.
Mission controllers have given the go for the Cargo Dragon, packed with science experiments and station hardware, to undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 10:40 a.m. EST on Saturday. Dragon will then parachute to a splashdown off the coast of Florida early Monday morning for retrieval by SpaceX recovery personnel. NASA TV will cover only the undocking and departure activities live on the NASA app and the agency’s website beginning Saturday at 10:15 a.m.
The four U.S. astronauts and one European astronaut aboard the orbiting lab relaxed today ahead of final cargo packing operations inside the SpaceX Cargo Dragon vehicle on Saturday. NASA astronaut Kayla Barron along with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer will begin Saturday loading frozen research samples into Dragon. Following that, NASA Flight Engineers Thomas Marshburn and Raja Chari will ensure all the Dragon cargo has been secured for a safe return to Earth before finally closing the hatch.
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will uninstall protein crystal samples, grown on the station and studied for the Advanced Nano Step experiment, then stow them inside the Cargo Dragon. Scientists on the ground will analyze the samples to learn how to develop new materials and drugs in space and the impacts of weightlessness on biochemistry.
Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov serviced their Orlan spacesuits today following Wednesday’s seven-hour and 11-minute spacewalk. Vande Hei joined the pair for a couple of hours in the afternoon disconnecting and stowing spacesuit components. During the excursion, the Russian spacewalkers activated the new Prichal docking module successfully integrating it with the orbiting lab’s Russian segment.
Dragon Departure Delayed as Cosmonauts Cleanup after Spacewalk
Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov (bottom left to right) work outside the Nauka and Prichal modules during a seven-hour, 11-minute spacewalk.
A U.S. resupply ship will wait at least one extra day to undock from the International Space Station while being packed with critical research samples for return to Earth. Meanwhile, two Expedition 66 cosmonauts are cleaning up following a spacewalk to activate a Russian docking module.
A forecast of inclement weather has caused a postponement of the departure of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon from the Harmony module‘s space-facing port from Friday to Saturday. Undocking is now targeted for Saturday, Jan. 22 at 10:40 a.m. EST. NASA TV coverage, on the NASA app and the agency’s website, will begin Saturday at 10:15 a.m.
The next weather briefing by SpaceX is planned for 12 p.m. Friday. If undocking occurs on Saturday, splashdown would be scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 23 around 4 p.m. The final splashdown site will be selected closer to deorbit and splashdown time.
Meanwhile, NASA Flight Engineers Kayla Barron and Thomas Marshburn spent Thursday morning loading biology samples inside the Cargo Dragon for return and analysis on Earth. Barron also joined ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Matthias Maurer transferring science freezers filled with more research samples into the U.S. resupply ship.
Life science moved right along throughout Thursday as Maurer and NASA Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei continued studying how a long-term space mission affects an astronaut’s visual function. NASA astronaut Raja Chari collected his blood and urine samples for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis. Chari later worked on the Food Physiology human research study that is exploring how diet and nutrition affect a crew member’s health in space.
Cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov called down to Russian mission controllers in the morning for a post-spacewalk conference. The duo activated the new Prichal docking module successfully integrating it with the orbiting lab’s Russian segment during Thursday’s seven-hour and 11-minute spacewalk. Vande Hei, who assisted the spacewalkers on Thursday, also joined the pair on Friday helping remove U.S. lights and cameras installed on the Orlan spacesuits.
