SpaceX F9/Dragon 2 : CRS2 SpX-25 : KSC LC-39A : 15 July 2022 (00:44 UTC)

[Rondaz]

With CRS-25 splashdown complete in the Atlantic Ocean, SpaceX's second Dragon recovery ship, Shannon is no longer needed on standby in the Gulf of Mexico.

The vessel will return to Port Canaveral in a few days.

https://twitter.com/SpaceOffshore/status/1561095735063351296

[Rondaz]

The @SpaceX #Dragon splashed down at 2:53pm ET today north of Cape Canaveral off the Florida coast returning science cargo and station gear back to Earth.

https://twitter.com/Space_Station/status/1561067240363098112

[Rondaz]

NASA: Dragon cargo spacecraft splashes down off Florida coast.

NASA says Dragon cargo spacecraft splashes down off Florida coast.

08/20/2022 23:46 (updated: 08/20/2022 23:48)

WASHINGTON, August 20 - RIA Novosti. The reusable cargo spacecraft Dragon splashed down off the coast of the US state of Florida, according to the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

SpaceX 's Dragon unmanned cargo spacecraft splashed down at 2:53 pm EDT on Saturday, August 20, north of Cape Canaveral off the coast of Florida , marking the return of the company's 25th contract delivery mission to the International Space station for NASA . The ship delivered to Earth more than four thousand pounds (about 1814 kilograms - ed.) of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo, "the statement said on the NASA website.

SpaceX also confirmed the splashdown on its Twitter account.

On Friday it was reported that the Dragon spacecraft successfully undocked from the ISS and is returning to Earth. Prior to that, his undocking and return was postponed due to bad weather.

The reusable Dragon spacecraft is the only vehicle to date that delivers cargo from orbit to Earth. He makes a water landing, which makes the weather conditions in the splashdown area crucial to his flight.

https://ria.ru/20220820/korabl-1811049241.html

[Rondaz]

Dragon Splashes Down With Scientific Cargo for Analysis

Mark Garcia Posted on August 20, 2022

SpaceX’s uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft splashed down at 2:53 p.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 20, north of Cape Canaveral off the Florida coast, marking the return of the company’s 25th contracted cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. The spacecraft carried more than 4,000 pounds of valuable scientific experiments and other cargo back to Earth.

Some of the scientific investigations returned by Dragon include:

Space’s impact on materials: The Materials International Space Station Experiment-15-NASA (MISSE-15-NASA) experiment tests, qualifies, and quantifies the impact of the low-Earth orbit environment on new materials and components, such as spacecraft materials and wearable radiation protection. Successful experiment results could have applications both in the harsh environments of space and on Earth.

Spacesuit cooling: Spacesuit Evaporation Rejection Flight Experiment (SERFE) demonstrates a new technology using water evaporation to remove heat from spacesuits and maintain appropriate temperatures for crew members and equipment during spacewalks. The investigation determines whether microgravity affects performance and evaluates the technology’s effect on contamination and corrosion of spacesuit material.

Cell signaling in microgravity: The ESA (European Space Agency) sponsored investigation Bioprint FirstAid Handheld Bioprinter (Bioprint FirstAid) enables the rapid use of formerly prepared bio-inks, containing the patient’s own cells, to form a band-aid patch in the case of injury.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2022/08/20/dragon-splashes-down-with-scientific-cargo-for-analysis/

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spaceoffshore/status/1561299011843375104

Megan arrived at Port Canaveral and unloaded the CRS-25 Dragon overnight

nasaspaceflight.com/fleetcam

[Rondaz]

Had some nice sonic booms in Titusville where I photographed the parachutes coming down. It was almost not visible with the human eye. If I hadn’t just updated my glasses prescription, I never would have spotted it!

https://twitter.com/ProjectHabu/status/1561102332133343235

[Conexion Espacial]

CRS-25 Splashdown
https://twitter.com/conexionspacial/status/1562083487938519041

[Rondaz]

Obj. 53584 DRAGON CRS-25 TRUNK decay prediction: August 30, 2022 UTC 11h11mn ± 37h

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1562378366824718336

[kdhilliard]

Obj. 53584 DRAGON CRS-25 TRUNK decay prediction: August 30, 2022 UTC 11h11mn ± 37h

Interesting.
I see that it is currently in a 335km x 189km orbit.
  http://www.satflare.com/track.asp?q=53584
Does that mean CRS2 SpX-25 conducted a portion of its reentry burn before detaching its trunk?
Has this been standard with Dragon 2 cargo missions?

[cohberg]

Does that mean CRS2 SpX-25 conducted a portion of its reentry burn before detaching its trunk?
Has this been standard with Dragon 2 cargo missions?

Yes and Yes (relative to the crewed mission)

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1458472861933490189

Here I plot height versus tim,e for the Dragon 2 (Crew and Cargo) trunks jettisoned in orbit.  4 of 8 remain in orbit as of today.

[SPKirsch]

For the last crewed missions the trunk decay duration was also shortened.

For example Crew-3:
https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1523480263262556160
https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1528481559317200897

[Yellowstone10]

Obj. 53584 DRAGON CRS-25 TRUNK decay prediction: August 30, 2022 UTC 11h11mn ± 37h

Interesting.
I see that it is currently in a 335km x 189km orbit.
  http://www.satflare.com/track.asp?q=53584
Does that mean CRS2 SpX-25 conducted a portion of its reentry burn before detaching its trunk?
Has this been standard with Dragon 2 cargo missions?

It's a question of whether a phasing burn is necessary to put Dragon at the right spot in the orbit when the orbital plane crosses over the landing site. That phasing burn (which is done with the trunk attached, prior to the deorbit burn) lowers Dragon's orbit and results in the trunk detaching in that lower orbit. If no phasing burn is needed and they can deorbit directly from the ~400 km near-ISS orbit, the trunk will be detached up there and take longer to reenter.

[Rondaz]

Update: obj. 53584 DRAGON CRS-25 TRUNK decay prediction: August 30, 2022 UTC 21h40mn ± 20h..

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1563614221425709058

[Rondaz]

Update: obj. 53584 DRAGON CRS-25 TRUNK decay prediction: August 31, 2022 UTC 06h32mn ± 9h

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1564391669075673096

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Photo from NASA Johnson prior to undocking

[Rondaz]

Update: obj. 53584 DRAGON CRS-25 TRUNK decay prediction: August 31, 2022 UTC 07h55mn ± 3h

https://twitter.com/jremis/status/1564746401409646597

[su27k]

Methane 'super-emitters' on Earth spotted by space station experiment

A powerful eye in the sky is helping scientists spy "super-emitters" of methane, a greenhouse gas about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

That observer is NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation instrument, or EMIT for short. EMIT has been mapping the chemical composition of dust throughout Earth's desert regions since being installed on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) in July, helping researchers understand how airborne dust affects climate.

That's the main goal of EMIT's mission. But it's making another, less expected contribution to climate studies as well, NASA officials announced on Tuesday (Oct. 25). The instrument is identifying huge plumes of heat-trapping methane gas around the world — more than 50 of them already, in fact.