The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship loaded with science experiments, a chest of wine and live mice, has made its first-ever splash in the Atlantic, NASA confirmed.
The spaceship autonomously disconnected from the International Space Station on Tuesday, Jan. 12, after spending 36 days at the Earth’s orbiting laboratory.
Among the experiments on the ship are a crate of Bordeaux wine, live mice and 3D-printed buds that could one day produce human organs from stem cells.
In total, there was 4,400 pounds of scientific research and other cargo that crashed into the Gulf of Mexico off Florida’s west coast at 01:30 GMT this morning.
This photo, taken by NASA, shows the SpaceX Dragon detaching from the International Space Station on Tuesday, January 12, 2021
Previous Dragon-freight SpaceX missions ended with a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific, but this new version of the spaceship is designed to land closer to the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Here, the space agency is processing science experiments conducted on board the ISS, so it made its way into the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
SpaceX Dragon is designed as a reusable spacecraft that can safely deliver equipment and cargo to the ISS and return science experiments to Earth.
“The upgraded Dragon cargo capsule used for this mission will contain double the availability of powered lockers over previous capsules, significantly increasing the research that can be returned to scientists,” NASA said.
“Some scientists get their research back soon, four to nine hours after the splashdown.”
This is the first time that science experiments have been able to return from the Space Station through Florida since the Space Shuttle shut down in 2011.
This image shows some of the cargo that was loaded on the Dragon ship last year when it first sailed to the ISS. It can keep more in cold storage than the original Dragon
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins poses next to storage in the SpaceX CRS-9 Cargo Dragon spacecraft in 2016. The new cargo spacecraft has more electrical closet space, allowing for extra cold storage space
To return to Earth, the experiments had to travel by capsule, helicopter, boat, plane, and car before returning to the researchers who designed them.
“I’m excited to finally see science come back here again, as we can get these time-sensitive experiments into the lab faster than ever before,” says Kennedy Space Center project manager for operations, Jennifer Wahlberg.
“ Sending science to space and then receiving it back on the runway was definitely something in the commute days that we were really proud of, and it’s great to be part of that process again. ”
As the spacecraft returns to Earth, the experiments are beginning to experience the effects of gravity again, NASA explained in a blog post.
It takes a lot of work to get the experiments from the floating capsule back to universities, companies and other institutions.
NASA described the process, saying, “After a SpaceX boat removes the capsule from the water, a waiting team pulls time-critical science from the spacecraft and loads it into a waiting helicopter.
The helicopter will land this science a few hours after the splashdown. Any remaining scientific cargo is returned in a second helicopter charge or remains on board the boat and disposed of in port. ‘
The helicopter will land the experiments at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), previously used for the return of the space shuttle.
Next, a team will move most of the cargo by truck to the Kennedy Space Center Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), where science teams wait.
“We’re going to have a parade of researchers lined up at the Kennedy Space Center, waiting to receive samples,” said Mary Walsh, the Kennedy Research Integration Office chief.
The spaceship left the International Space Station on Tuesday and, after some delay, finally made the Gulf of Mexico crash into the Atlantic Ocean this morning.
There is a lot to consider in returning science experiments to scientists, including sending them by boat, helicopter, and car
Traditionally used to prepare experiments for launch to space, the SSPF is home to world-class laboratories that provide the tools and workspace to immediately take data and analyze samples, the space agency explained.
“The scientists will quickly look to get the first results and then send it back to their home base,” Wahlberg says.
‘The advantage of being able to observe science earlier is the ability to nullify any gravitational effects on the research after it has been in space.’
From the hub at the Kennedy Space Center, the scientific samples and experiments travel around the world to California, Texas, Massachusetts, Japan and more.
The vast amount of science returning to Earth during this mission is possible thanks to upgrades to the SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft, which has twice the power of the company’s previous capsules.
The Rodent Research Hardware System is an experiment that returns to Earth – it includes three modules: (left) habitat, (middle) transporter and (right) animal access unit
In another experiment, a chest of wine was sent to the ISS to age in orbit for over a year – it will be tasted and examined in February for changes in bubble contents
On return, it can support up to 12 electric lockers, allowing more cold cargo and power for additional charge to be carried.
The old capsule was like a cream-filled donut. You packed everything around the walls, and we put a big pile of bags in the middle, ”Walsh said.
This upgraded cargo dragon is more like a three-story house. You put stuff in the basement, then you pack that second floor, then you go upstairs and pack the third floor. So it’s really different from a design perspective. ‘
The next SpaceX Dragon cargo mission will take place in May, and the crew’s Dragon capsule currently attached to the space station will return its four-person crew in May.
To that end, another Dragon spacecraft from the crew will be launched in March to send four more astronauts to the orbiting laboratory.