SpaceX - Dragon / CRS-1 Mission patch.
Oct. 28, 2012
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was unberthed from the International Space Station at 7:19 a.m. EDT Sunday, wrapping up 18 days attached to the complex for the cargo craft on its first contracted resupply mission.
The ground team at Mission Control Houston remotely commanded the station’s robotic arm to uninstall Dragon from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony node after Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams removed the bolts and latches of the Common Berthing Mechanism that had secured the cargo craft to the station since Oct 10.
Image above: The International Space Station's robotic arm unberths the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft. Credit: NASA TV.
A set of programmed commands to Canadarm2 will maneuver Dragon out to the 15-meter release point, where Williams and Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide will ungrapple Dragon at 9:26 a.m. and back the arm away. Dragon will perform three burns to place it on a trajectory away from the station. Mission Control Houston then will confirm that Dragon is on a safe path away from the complex.
Dragon Departs Space Station
A 10-minute deorbit burn beginning at 2:28 p.m. will slow Dragon down for its descent back to Earth, culminating in a parachute-assisted splashdown at 250 miles off the coast of southern California at 3:20 p.m. Dragon is the only space station cargo craft capable of returning a significant amount of supplies back to Earth, including experiments.
Image above: The International Space Station's robotic arm unberths the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft. Credit: NASA TV.
Dragon delivered 882 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, including 260 pounds of crew supplies, 390 pounds of scientific research, 225 pounds of hardware and several pounds of other supplies. Dragon is returning a total of 1,673 pounds, including 163 pounds of crew supplies, 866 pounds of scientific research, and 518 pounds of vehicle hardware and other hardware.
Dragon on Canadarm2 Leaves Station
Dragon launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket Oct. 7 at 8:35 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, beginning NASA's first contracted cargo delivery flight, designated SpaceX CRS-1, to the station.
For NASA TV downlink information, up-to-date schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For information on the International Space Station and the Expedition 33 crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station
For more information about SpaceX, visit: http://www.spacex.com/
Images, Video, Text, Credits: SpaceX / NASA / NASA TV.
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