A SpaceX Dragon resupply ship approaches the Worldwide Area Station on Dec. eight, 2019, as each spacecraft orbit 261 miles above Kazakhstan. NASA
This week, SpaceXs Dragon cargo spacecraft will depart from the Worldwide Area Station (ISS), the place it has been docked since December 7, 2019. It’s going to carry three,600 kilos of cargo again to Earth together with defective components and the outcomes of scientific experiments. After detaching from the ISS, the craft will hearth its thrusters, execute a deorbit burn, and carry out a parachute-assisted splashdown into the Pacific Ocean southwest of Lengthy Seashore, California.
The return of the Dragon ship had initially been scheduled for Sunday, January 5, however a forecast of unhealthy climate within the space the place the craft was set to land implies that the mission needed to be delayed. You will need to have clear skies for a splashdown in order that the craft can simply be situated and in order that the climate doesnt intrude with the splashdown course of.
Now, the Dragon will likely be splashing down on Tuesday, January 7. It is going to be launched from the ISS at 2:04 a.m. PT and may splash down at 7:47 a.m. PT. To look at reside protection of the craft being launched from the ISS, you possibly can tune into NASA TV from 1:45 a.m. PT on Tuesday utilizing the video under:
One vital element the Dragon will likely be carrying again to Earth is a defective battery charge-discharge unit (BCDU). The BCDU was changed by NASA astronauts and ISS residents Christina Koch and Jessica Meir throughout a spacewalk on October 18 final 12 months, as a part of the ISSs ongoing energy system improve. New lithium-ion batteries have been put in onto the truss of the house station, however the BCDU didn’t activate. Now, it is going to be returned to Earth so NASA engineers can assess the issue and restore it.
As well as, the Dragon will carry again the outcomes of assorted scientific experiments, together with some tiny animals known as rotifers. These are microscopic aquatic animals that reside in freshwater and which show distinctive resistance to radiation on Earth. Scientists need to know if they’re additionally immune to house radiation and microgravity, so samples of the critters had been positioned in an incubator facility aboard ISS the place they could possibly be uncovered to house circumstances. Then they had been frozen for the return journey, and as soon as they arrive on the planet scientists can see whether or not the spaceflight affected their metabolism or genetics.
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