Welcome home, Crew-5!
Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, left, NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata, right, are seen inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon shortly after having landed in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida, Saturday, March 11, 2023. Mann, Cassada, Wakata, and Kikina are returning after 157 days in space as part of Expedition 68 aboard the International Space Station.
Credits: NASA/Keegan Barber
NASA has announced that the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann, JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, splashed down near Tampa, off the coast of Florida, at 9.02 p.m. EST. At 2:20 a.m. EST, it was undocked from the International Space Station's Harmony to finish the mission.
The Crew-5 mission had launched on October 5, 2022, atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, and the following day, the spacecraft docked with the space station.
The mission's main goal was to perform scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. The crew did some experiments inside the orbiting laboratory to understand how microgravity affects the nervous system. This can help in the study of better health for the aging population on Earth. They did some investigations to enhance future long-duration space missions. The upgraded Biofabrication Facility has also been reinstalled.
After departure from the ISS, the Crew Dragon performs a series of orbit-lowering manoeuvres; the spacecraft travels at a high speed of 17500 mph when it leaves the ISS. About an hour before splashdown, the separation of the claw and trunk is completed. The spacecraft has two parts, the trunk, aka the unpressurised section containing cargo, solar panels for power, and the pressurised section, called the capsule, containing the crew. The heat shield is located at the bottom of the capsule. Hence, the heat shield is exposed when the trunk is separated from the capsule, serving as protection during the deorbit burn. Now, the Dragon starts working only on the battery. The trunk, after it detaches, will fall back to Earth and burn up as it enters the atmosphere. The deorbit burn lasts for approximately 11 minutes. Here, the dragon is put on a trajectory to return to Earth by Draco thrusters. Draco thrusters are used to change the orientation of a spacecraft, altering the Dragon's path and lining it up to re-enter Earth's atmosphere.
Heat shield. Credits: Jared Owens (youtube)
The communication blackout started at 8.48 p.m. EST, when mission control lost connection with the crew for a whole of 7 minutes!!! The blackout occurred due to the formation of plasma around the capsule. After Endurance entered Earth's atmosphere, a series of parachutes were deployed to slow its descent; two drogue parachutes stabilized the spacecraft following re-entry at a speed of 350 mph, and four main parachutes further decelerated the spacecraft before landing at a speed of 119 mph. A drogue parachute is designed for deployment from a rapidly-moving object. It can be used for various purposes, such as to decrease speed, to provide control and stability, or as a pilot parachute to deploy a larger parachute.
Dragon entering the Earth’s atmosphere. Credits:@NASA on twitter
In the night sky, the spacecraft looked like a bright shooting star. It reached 16 mph and gently splashed down!
After 157 days, 10 hours, and a minute, the crew is back on Earth!
The SpaceX Dragon Endurance is seen as it splashes down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Tampa, Florida, at 9:02 p.m. EST, returning Crew-5 to Earth. Credits: NASA TV.
Comments
Post a Comment