Dragon spacecraft splashes down marking successful completion of historic mission

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft has splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean, marking the successful completion of its mission in which a number of historic firsts were achieved. The splashdown came at approximately 11:42 US EDT, with the unmanned capsule landing in the waters roughly 500 miles (805 km) off the coast of Baja, California.
After its launch on May 22 atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the Dragon capsule became the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on May 25. While attached to the ISS, 1,146 pounds (520 kg) of non-critical cargo that included food, other crew provisions and student experiments were unloaded, making room for the 1,455 pounds (660 kg) of cargo that was then packed onto the spacecraft to be returned to NASA. With other cargo vehicles servicing the ISS all destroyed after leaving the ISS, the reusable Dragon spacecraft is the only one capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth.
While the journey to the ISS took 3 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 23 seconds, the return trip, from detaching from the ISS to splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, took just under six hours. After detaching from the ISS’s robotic arm at 5:49 am US EDT, a deorbit burn was carried out at 10:51 to decelerate the spacecraft. At 11:36, the spacecraft’s chutes were deployed and it splashed into the ocean six minutes later, awaiting recovery by boat.

Ref:  http://www.gizmag.com/dragon-spacecraft-lands/22770/

ISS crew enter the SpaceX Dragon

After making history last Friday by becoming the first private spacecraft to ever reach the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX’s Dragon capsule was successfully boarded by ISS astronauts the following morning. The interior of the craft was reportedly in good condition, and according to astronaut Don Pettit, it smelled like a new car.

Working from the station’s Harmony module, where the Dragon is docked, Pettit opened the capsule’s exterior hatch on Saturday at 5:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time. He and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko then entered the spacecraft for initial inspections, and were joined by European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka. The men initially wore goggles and protective masks, which is a standard precaution taken when opening any craft that has just arrived at the station.
The ISS crew are now in the process of unloading 1,014 pounds (460 kg) of cargo, which was brought to the ISS aboard the Dragon. They will then load it up with approximately the same amount of gear, for it to bring back to Earth when it returns this Thursday.
Sources: SpaceX, NASA










Ref:  http://www.gizmag.com/spacex-dragon-boarded/22710/