SpaceX\u2019s CRS-19 Dragon spacecraft has completed her EOM (End Of Mission) milestones, following unberthing from the International Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth on Tuesday. Dragon\u2019s release from the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) occurred at 10:05 UTC, with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at around 15:40 UTC.\n<\/p>\n
This mission began with Dragon\u2019s ride on Falcon 9 B1059.1 \u2013 the first newly-built Falcon 9 booster to fly since June\u2019s Falcon Heavy launch and the first to be used on a single-core Falcon 9 mission since the CRS-17 launch.<\/p>\n
Lifting off from SLC-40, the booster successfully returned to land on Of Course I Still Love You while the second stage successfully deployed Dragon en route to the orbital outpost.<\/p>\n
Dragon\u2019s pressurized section delivered 2,617 kilograms (5,769 lb) of cargo, 1,693 kilograms (3,732 lb) of which is contained within the pressurized capsule. This includes 306 kilograms (675 lb) of equipment for the station, 65 kilograms (141 lb) of hardware to support future spacewalks, 15 kilograms (33 lb) of computer equipment and 256 kilograms (564 lb) of provisions for the crew.<\/p>\n
Scientific payloads account for 977 kilograms (2,154 lb) of the pressurized cargo aboard Dragon.<\/p>\n
Dragon\u2019s unpressurized Trunk carried the Hyperspectral Imager Suite (HISUI) and NASA\u2019s Robotic Tool Stowage (RiTS).<\/p>\n
While berthed on Node 2, Dragon\u2019s cargo was unloaded and the capsule reloaded with equipment to be returned to Earth \u2013 including 54 completed scientific investigations. The total mass of cargo to be returned to Earth is expected to be around 1,633 kilograms (3,600 lb).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Spaceflight history books (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n Robotic ground controllers used the robotic arm to detach Dragon from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module to maneuver Dragon into the release position.<\/p>\n Dragon was unberthed by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) before being released from the robotic arm at 10:05 UTC.<\/p>\n Once the LEE snares were released, the SSRMS was backed away from Dragon as the craft held its position at the 10-meter mark.<\/p>\n Once the Station\u2019s arm was cleared to a safe distance, Dragon conducted a series of three small thruster firing departure burns that moves the capsule down the R-Bar (Radial Vector) and away from the International Space Station toward Earth (when viewed in relation to ISS orientation and Dragon movements with respect to Earth).<\/p>\n One of the thruster firings, Departure Burn 2, was noted as impacting on the still-attached Cygnus spacecraft\u2019s arrays. This will be investigated, as \u201cplume impingement\u201d is something the ISS team always aim to avoid with arriving and departing vehicles.<\/p>\n