The first U.S. spacecraft with equipment to succeed on the International Space Station in nearly a decade returned safely to Earth on Sunday, splashing in the Gulf of Mexico.
The first U.S. spacecraft with equipment for the International Space Station in nearly a decade returned safely to Earth on Sunday. Source: AFP
The first U.S. spacecraft with equipment to succeed on the International Space Station in nearly a decade returned safely to Earth on Sunday, splashing in the Gulf of Mexico.
The spaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour’s 4 main parachutes floated gently in the water after the shipment landed in Pensacola at 1448 hours.
Pilot Doug Hurley, one of the two astronauts on board, said, “This is, in fact, our honor and privilege.”
“On behalf of the NASA and SpaceX teams, welcome to Planet Earth and thank you for piloting SpaceX,” said Mike Heiman of SpaceX, laughing in the room.
Several civilian vessels invaded the mastery of the landing when a rescue vessel accelerated to the burned capsule and brought it aboard.
But the opening of the hatch was delayed for some time as a team ran to prevent a fuel vapour leak from the rocket.
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour team from Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken departing from the International Space Station. Picture: Twitter SpaceX and NASA Source: Supplied
SPACE AUTONOMY
The good luck of the project showed that the United States, once back, has the ability to send its astronauts to the area and bring them back.
President Donald Trump, who visited Florida for the capsule launch two months ago, welcomed his return.
“Thank you all!” Tweeted. “It’s wonderful that NASA astronauts are returning to Earth after a very successful two-month mission.” The United States has had to rely on Russia to enter the area since the last round-trip flight in 2011.
Tropical Storm Isaiah, which devastated the original Endeavour landing site in the Atlantic, arrived Sunday on Florida’s east coast thousands of miles away.
The project is also a major victory for SpaceX by Elon Musk, which was founded only in 2002 but surpassed Boeing, its main competitor in the advertising race.
The United States paid the two corporations a total of about $7 billion for their “space taxi” contracts, the efforts of aerospace giant Boeing have seriously failed.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon after splashing in Pensacola, Florida. Picture: NASA/AFP Source: AFP
ATMOSPHERIC RETURN
The Crew Dragon capsule performed several exact procedures to get home safely.
First, he dropped his “chest” than his energy, heat and other systems, which burned in the atmosphere.
The Endeavour then pulled its thrusters to move into the proper orbit and trajectory for landing.
Upon entering the environment at a speed of approximately 28,000 km/h, he experienced temperatures of 900 degrees Celsius.
This is a brief but expected collapse of communication.
Endeavour then deployed two sets of parachutes on his descent, reducing his speed to just 24 km/h when he hit the water.
It is the first water landing of an American spacecraft with equipment since the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz project.
This NASA video symbol capture shows fast ships moving towards the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft after its landing. Picture: NASA/AFP Source: AFP
ASTRO DADS
The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft departed the ISS on Saturday night. The images showed that the capsule was slowly moving away from the orbiting lab in the darkness of space, ending a two-month period for teammates.
In a farewell rite at the station, Commander Bob Behnken said “the most difficult component was starting.” But the most vital thing is to get us a home. Addressing his son and Hurley’s son, he brandished a toy dinosaur that the young men chose to send to a project and said, “Tremor L’Apatosaurus will be home soon and be with their parents.” The return of Behnken and Hurley only marks the beginning of Dragon Crew as long-term spaceX and NASA projects.
Endeavour will return to spaceX Dragon Lair in Florida, where you will go through a six-week inspection procedure as crews review their knowledge and functionality to certify that the shipment is worthy of long-duration missions in low-Earth orbit.
The next project, called “Crew-1,” will involve a team of four: Commander Michael Hopkins, pilot Victor Glover and NASA project specialist Shannon Walker, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency project specialist Soichi Noguchi.
Take-off is scheduled for the end of September and the team will have to perform six months at the area station.