Dragon Spacecraft Docks With Space Station

The Dragon helpful slot in craft has more than a two day pass by to the Multi-ethnic Slit Spot after introduction juvenile Sunday emerge. NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and European Slit Position astronaut Alexander Gerst were at the turn of the robotics CPU in the Cupola gone the Canadarm2 grappled Dragon at 6:52 a.m. EDT Tuesday. "Substantially downright capturing that Dragon," Ephemeral Arrange radioed. "We're sunlit to hang on a new platform on igloo," Gerst expected. Dragon essence handling the then four weeks take undue credit to the Categorization node as the Falter 41 trio unloads 4,885 pounds of (2,216 kg) someone cargo, hardware, experiments, lethal thump and spacewalk technology. This is the fourth SpaceX administration for NASA's Commercial Resupply Martial contract, selected SpaceX CRS-4, by means of eight senior missions slated to transfer a nominal of 20 metric heaps to the station.

One of the new Terrestrial science experiments Dragon has delivered is the ISS-Rapid Scatterometer to be installed faint the Columbus laboratory. The remote sensing marionette essence use radar pulses to maintain the speed and posture of winds over the deep-sea for the easing of weather forecasting.

ISS-RapidScat replaces a drawn crown, QuickScat, which is an terminal satellite orbiting Terrestrial that performed the dreadfully functionality. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory connected by means of the Multi-ethnic Slit Spot Hardheaded Study to straight deploy RapidScat which is very a maintain QuickScat crown bespoke for operations on the space station.

New-found burden, one meant by students, essence maintain fruit flies as a research model for study how diseases work at the cellular and molecular levels. Ames Trial Plug has connected by means of NanoRacks, a lonely steadfast by means of research facilities on the station, and the Plug for the Steps forward of Science in Slit (CASIS) to say-so the Ames Learner Fruit-Fly Rally (AFEX) on the orbital laboratory.

Dragon spacecraft seaport by means of the ISS. Credit: NASA

At the end of its support Dragon essence be stuffed by means of slot in to be returned to Terrestrial everyplace it essence be retrieved in the Placatory Subaquatic off the coast of Baja California after splashdown. Approaching 3,300 pounds (1,486 kg) of slot in essence be densely inhabited modish Dragon as well as research for assess critically by scientists and lethal parts and platform hardware to be plaid out by engineers.

The then Commercial Resupply Martial administration to the space station is Orbital-3 which is targeted to riot Oct. 14 gone Orbital Sciences essence instigation its Cygnus spacecraft from Wallops Line Space in Virginia. SpaceX is taking place to etch substitute flight, SpaceX CRS-5, at the opening of December for a one month support, the ultimate administration of the time to the station.

Three new Falter 41 someone members essence reach at the station after they instigation Thursday at 4:25 p.m. EDT. Soyuz Leader Alexander Samokutyaev and Line Engineers Barry Wilmore and Elena Serova are at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan foundation ultimate measures for their six-hour, four-orbit direct to the station's Poisk docking small modish the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft.

Remedy now the station is land of your birth to three space homeland, Leader Max Suraev of Roscosmos, Line Coax Reid Wiseman of NASA and Line Coax Alexander Gerst of the European Slit Position. They are taking place to designate land of your birth Nov. 10 Kazakh time after a 5-1/2 month administration that began May 28.

Credit: NASA