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Robert Pearlman
SpaceX Dragon departure slips a day
Due to a forecast of unacceptable sea states in the Pacific Ocean in the prime opportunity splashdown zone, SpaceX and NASA have elected to delay the return of the CRS-11 Dragon cargo craft one day to Monday, July 3. The splashdown zone has an acceptable weather forecast and is closer to port in Long Beach, California.
Flight controllers will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the Dragon capsule, which arrived at the station June 5, from the Earth-facing side of the station's Harmony module. After they maneuver Dragon into place, Expedition 52 Flight Engineers Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson of NASA will command release of the spacecraft at 2:28 a.m. EDT (0628 GMT).
Dragon's thrusters will be fired to move the spacecraft a safe distance from the space station before SpaceX flight controllers in Hawthorne, California, command its deorbit burn.
Splashdown is expected around 260 miles southwest of the California coast.
Robert Pearlman
SpaceX CRS-11 Dragon departs space station
Expedition 52 astronauts Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson released the CRS-11 Dragon from the International Space Station's robotic arm at 1:41 a.m. CDT (0641 GMT) on Monday (July 3).
"Dragon's been an incredible spacecraft," said Fischer. "I could even say it was slathered in awesome sauce. This baby has had almost no problems, which is an incredible feat considering it's the first reuse of a Dragon vehicle."
SpaceX flight controllers in Hawthorne, California, will command the Dragon's deorbit burn leading to the capsule splashing down at 7:12 a.m. CDT (1212 GMT) in the Pacific Ocean. A SpaceX recovery team will retrieve the Dragon and its more than 4,100 pounds (1,860 kg) of cargo, including science samples from human and animal research, biology and biotechnology studies and physical science research.
NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, the non-profit that manages research aboard the U.S. national lab portion of the station, will receive time-sensitive samples and begin working with researchers to distribute them within 48 hours of splashdown.
From Jack Fischer on Twitter:
And there goes Dragon... Goodbye to our first return visitor since Atlantis in 2011 — Come on back anytime, we'll leave the lights on for you!
Robert Pearlman
From Jack Fischer on Twitter:
Beautiful expanse of stars — but the "long" orange one is SpaceX-11 reentering! Congrats team for a successful splashdown and great mission!
From SpaceX on Twitter:
Good splashdown of Dragon confirmed — completing first re-flight of a commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station.
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