NASA and its international partners will soon receive scientific research samples and hardware after a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft departs the International Space Station on Thursday, May 22, for its return to Earth.
NASA will post updates on the agency’s space station blog.
These capabilities maximize satellite lifespan and protect satellites and spacecraft in low Earth orbit that provide services to people on Earth.
For more than 24 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge, and conducting critical research for the benefit of humanity and our home planet.
Learn more about the International Space Station at: https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station -end- Julian Coltre / Josh Finch Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
After a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft leaves the International Space Station on Thursday, May 22, for its return to Earth, NASA and its international partners will soon receive hardware and samples for scientific research.
At 11:45 a.m., live coverage of the undocking and departure will start. M. EDT on NASA+. Discover how to access NASA content on various platforms, such as social media.
The Dragon spacecraft will disembark at 12:05 p.m. from the Harmony module of the station’s zenith port, which faces space. m. and use its thrusters to pull away from the station, which is controlled by SpaceX’s Mission Control in Hawthorne, California, at a safe distance.
On Friday, May 23, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of California after reentering Earth’s atmosphere. NASA will update its space station blog with new information. No livestream footage of the splashdown is available.
Launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 21, the spacecraft, loaded with nearly 6,700 pounds of supplies, science investigations, equipment, and food, reached the space station on April 22 as part of the agency’s SpaceX 32nd commercial resupply services mission.
The MISSE-20 (Multipurpose International Space Station Experiment) exposed a variety of materials to space, including ceramic composites for reentry spacecraft studies, resins for possible use in heat shields, solar sails and reflective coatings, radiation shielding and detection materials, and other scientific equipment and samples Dragon will bring back to Earth. The materials’ reactions to atomic oxygen, UV light, charged particles, thermal cycling, and other elements can be better understood thanks to samples that were collected outside the station.
Furthermore, after proving its grasping and relocating abilities on the space station, Astrobee-REACCH (Responsive Engaging Arms for Captive Care and Handling) is making its way back to Earth. Using tentacle-like arms and adhesive pads, Astrobee robots were utilized in the REACCH demonstration to capture space objects with varying geometries or surface materials. Orbital debris removal, orbit change maneuvers, and end-of-life satellite maintenance may all benefit from testing a method for safely capturing and moving debris and other objects in orbit. These features extend the life of satellites and safeguard low-Earth orbit satellites and spacecraft that serve Earthly citizens.
Also coming back are books from the Story Time from Space initiative. In space, crew members recorded themselves performing science experiments and read five children’s books about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. A video library with related educational materials was created using the data and video that were downlinked to Earth during the readings and demonstrations.
In addition, OPTICA (Onboard Programmable Technology for Image Compression and Analysis) hardware and data from a one-year technology demonstration will be brought back to Earth. The OPTICA technology was developed to improve the transmission of ultra-high-resolution hyperspectral imagery in real-time from space to Earth. It also offered useful information for data processing and compression that could lower the bandwidth needed for communication, thereby lowering the cost of obtaining data from space-based imaging systems without lowering the amount of data. Additionally, this technology could enhance services that depend on Earth observations, like disaster response.
Over the course of more than 24 years, humans have lived and worked continuously on board the International Space Station, conducting vital research and expanding scientific knowledge for the benefit of humanity and our home planet. As NASA prepares for upcoming human missions to Mars and deep space missions to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, as well as growing commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit and beyond, space station research aids in the future of human spaceflight.
The International Space Station can be found out more about at:.
This link will take you to the International Space Station.
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Coltre Julian and Finch Josh.
Washington headquarters.
(202) 358-1600.
Julian. Dot coltre@nasa . gov / Joshua does not exist. a . finch@nasa.gov.
