Dragon splashes down in Pacific
Posted: Thu, May 31, 2012, 9:00 PM ET (0100 GMT)
SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft departed from the International Space Station early Thursday and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, wrapping up a successful demonstration mission. The Dragon was unberthed from the ISS by the station's robotic arm at 4:07 am EDT (0807 GMT) and soon departed the vicinity of the station. The spacecraft reentered the atmosphere several hours later, splashing down several hundred kilometers off the coast of Baja California at 11:42 am EDT (1542 GMT). A SpaceX recovery ship pulled the capsule out of the ocean a short time later and will return it to California. The capsule is carrying over 600 kilograms of experiments and unneeded equipment from the station, some of which will be offloaded at the Port of Los Angeles and the rest after the capsule is transported to a SpaceX facility in Texas. The splashdown wrapped up a first-of-its-kind mission by a commercial spacecraft, successfully approaching the ISS and being berthed to the station last week. The flight clears the way for SpaceX to begin regular cargo missions to the ISS, with the first planned for later this year.
SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft departed from the International Space Station early Thursday and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, wrapping up a successful demonstration mission. The Dragon was unberthed from the ISS by the station's robotic arm at 4:07 am EDT (0807 GMT) and soon departed the vicinity of the station. The spacecraft reentered the atmosphere several hours later, splashing down several hundred kilometers off the coast of Baja California at 11:42 am EDT (1542 GMT). A SpaceX recovery ship pulled the capsule out of the ocean a short time later and will return it to California. The capsule is carrying over 600 kilograms of experiments and unneeded equipment from the station, some of which will be offloaded at the Port of Los Angeles and the rest after the capsule is transported to a SpaceX facility in Texas. The splashdown wrapped up a first-of-its-kind mission by a commercial spacecraft, successfully approaching the ISS and being berthed to the station last week. The flight clears the way for SpaceX to begin regular cargo missions to the ISS, with the first planned for later this year.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, October 4
Starship’s successful launch to low Earth orbit is a big deal
The Hill — 12:29 am ET (0429 GMT) Cowen Defends SpaceX De-Annexation Deal as a ‘Historic Opportunity’ for Brownsville’s Water Future
Rio Grande Guardian — 12:28 am ET (0428 GMT) Oman space conference 2026 opens in Muscat
Muscat (Oman) Daily — 12:28 am ET (0428 GMT) France eyes commercial rocket launch from Al Duqm
Oman Observer — 12:24 am ET (0424 GMT) India tests 5.56-km quantum link, ISRO eyes secure communication from space
India Today — 12:23 am ET (0423 GMT) |
