Good morning everyone! The first full workday on board #ISS for the #SpaceX #Demo2 #Endeavour #Dragon crew who are now part of #Exp63 has started with some cargo ops! At this time the US #capturetheflag has not yet been removed from the #Node2 hatch. Live view:
#SpaceX #Dragon #Demo2 cargo is being unloaded at this time. #ISS #Exp63
SpaceX has captured the flag! This moment was inspiration for us for years!
Published on 1 Jun 2020NASA ASTRONAUTS PAY TRIBUTE TO SPACEX AND GRADUATES FROM SPACE STATIONAboard the International Space Station, Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy of NASA and newly arrived crewmates Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken of NASA offered their thanks and congratulations to SpaceX officials and employees during an in-flight event from the orbital outpost June 1. Hurley and Behnken became the first American astronauts to launch on an American spacecraft from American soil in almost a decade May 31 when they lifted off aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the new SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Hurley and Behnken spoke with Benji Reed, the SpaceX Director of Crew Mission Management, before displaying a picture flown on Crew Dragon that contained a photo mosaic of photos graduates from around the nation – honoring those who graduated this spring during the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/iss_ustream.html Is the source for the above photo.
Just awesome to be back in space and on @Space_Station!
Here’s the front of @Space_Station now, the 1st @SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle leading the way. #Endeavour
Bowersox: still deciding length of Demo-2 mission but expect will do some EVAs with Behnken and Cassidy by end of July and then will start thinking abt bringing them back in August when winds are light bc this Dragon has tighter landing constraints re wind.
NASA acting director of human spaceflight Ken Bowersox:The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is performing "very well" and astronauts Bob Behnken & Doug Hurley will likely stay on the ISS for at least 2 months."We'd like to get them home sometime in August."
The view from Dragon today @Space_Station.
Mark your calendars 📅One June 26 and July 1, two @NASA_Astronauts will embark on spacewalks to upgrade the power systems of the @Space_Station, following up on the battery swap work that began last year and continued into January: go.nasa.gov/2AXIyIE
I stayed up late last night to spend some time looking out the window. It was a beautiful day to see the Great Lakes and my childhood home in upstate New York.
SPACE STATION CREW MEMBER DISCUSSES LIFE IN SPACE WITH THE MEDIA Aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 63 Flight Engineers Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley of NASA discussed the progress of their mission on the orbital outpost during a series of in-flight interviews June 16 with CBS News, CNN Business News and Fox Business News. Behnken and Hurley launched on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft May 30 and arrived at the station on May 31, marking the first launch of U.S. astronauts on an American spacecraft from American soil to the station since the retirement of the space shuttle in 2011.
Lueders: Still looking at early August for return of Behnken and Hurley to wrap up SpaceX Demo-2.
NASA's Kathy Lueders says Dragon Endeavour has been "waking up every week" for a check-up before going back into a sleep mode."The crew on orbit have been taking it through its paces ... so far she's been doing great."
Lueders: "One of the things we want to make sure of is how comfortable is the vehicle with all 4 crew members in. How able are you to do all the tasks you need to do with all 4 crew members in it and we're getting ready to do that demonstration."
NASA Johnson FollowThe SpaceX Crew Dragon also known as Endeavouriss063e026772 (June 8, 2020) --- The SpaceX Crew Dragon, also known as Endeavour, is pictured docked to the Harmony module's International Docking Adapter on the forward portion of the International Space Station.
Is that the Japanese vv? Is it the camera angle or is it quite close and above the dragon?
Bob and Doug briefing mission control on their experience flying in Dragon Endeavour after arriving on station.
NASA’s Gulfstream V jet is scheduled for “DM-2 Direct Return Mission” from August 15-17, returning the Demo-2 crew to Houston. Dragon Endeavour’s splashdown off the coast of Florida should then occur on or just before those dates. https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/content/DM-2_Direct_Return_Mission?date_instance=20200815
Happy #FathersDay from just a few of the dads on @Space_Station today. My family put together a wonderful video greeting for me showing how the day would have gone if I was home. Think I can talk them into just giving me that day when I get home in a few weeks?
Love that all 3 are wearing DM-2. Also is that the captured flag far left?
Here is the simulated view from my worksite during upcoming @Space_Station spacewalks. Should be an awesome view of the @SpaceX Dragon capsule now known as #Endeavour!
NASA is hosting a pre-spacewalk briefing now, as astronauts Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken will go outside the space station on July 1 to upgrade some of the ISS batteries. You can tune in here: youtube.com/watch?v=oPiv_v…
NASA commercial crew manager Steve Stich on Demo-2 and SpaceX Dragon Endeavour:"The vehicle is doing extremely well as we put it through its paces."
Stich: Today NASA will power up Dragon Endeavour to do a systems check, "learning how to manage the systems -- the heaters and thermal performance -- as we go through the changes in the orbit."
Stich: "We've been watching the power generation of Dragon," which is "generating more power than we expected. That's going extremely well right now." "Should have about 114 or more days of capability" from Crew Dragon's solar arrays.
Stitch: Crew-1 Dragon moving along. Expect to ship to KSC by end of July. Has more capability than Demo-2, can dock at zenith port. Launch vehicle coming along too. Good position for launch "later this year." Think need 6 wks to review DM-2 data and launch Crew-1.
When will @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug return to Earth? “It looks like the first opportunity to undock and come home would be around August the 2nd.” @Commercial_Crew program manager Steve Stich says our #LaunchAmerica astronauts could come home in the August time frame.
Stitch: for any mission, can be 6 to 30 hours after undocking till splashdown. Depends on when undocking takes place and which landing site is used. Have 3 for this mission: off Jacksonville, off Cape Canaveral, off Pensacola.Crew Dragon has 3 days of consumables.
SPACE STATION ASTRONAUTS DISCUSS LIFE IN SPACE WITH NPR AND JAMES CORDENAboard the International Space Station, Expedition 63 Flight Engineers Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken discussed their historic mission on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to the orbital laboratory during a pair of in-flight interviews June 24 with CBS’ “Late Late Show with James Corden” and NPR’s “Morning Edition.” Hurley and Behnken arrived on the complex May 31 after launching in Dragon Endeavour atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida – the first launch of American astronauts on an American rocket from American soil to the station since the retirement of the space shuttle in July 2011.
Two solar transits of the ISS on June 24 and 25, showing the SpaceX Crew Dragon and, for the first time, the Canadarm2 robotic armIn video: youtu.be/Bku76sBWwME
Since it's a little hard to spot, I marked Dragon Endeavour in a screenshot of Bob's view:
The Los Angeles Basin, where @SpaceX headquarters is located and where Dragon #Endeavour was built. The marine layer receded just enough to see Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands.
I zoomed in on #Endeavour in this great photo taken by @astro_seal during last week’s spacewalk. We are one month into the DM-2 Test Flight & all systems are working well. @Commercial_Crew & @SpaceX teams are working hard to finalize landing plans for some time in early August.
A stunning image of SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour docked with the International Space Station, taken during a spacewalk by NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy.
Here's a bonus wide shot showing Dragon Endeavour, the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle-9 cargo spacecraft, and the European Columbus laboratory module ― all of which are attached to the U.S. Harmony space station module.
Tracking the #ISS just before dawn during a pass last week, with #SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour parked out front. Field of view is about 0.02 deg wide.11" SCT on an equatorial mount, using homebrew pointing control code to follow the TLE.@metrolinaszabi @Erdayastronaut
NASA says that four of the five crew on the International Space Station tested the "comfort factors" of SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endeavour today, in a one hour demonstration of the spacecraft's habitability.
Russian Cargo Ship Leaves, Crew Tests Dragon’s Comfort FactorsRussia’s Progress 74 (74P) cargo craft departed the International Space Station today leaving four spaceships from the U.S., Russia and Japan parked at the orbital lab. It will be replaced in two weeks when the Progress 76 arrives to replenish the crew.The 74P undocked today at 2:23 p.m. EDT after seven months attached to the Pirs docking compartment. The trash-packed resupply ship will descend into Earth’s atmosphere above the South Pacific for a fiery but safe demise. The 76P will take its place when it launches on July 23 at 10:26 a.m. and docks just three-and-a-half hours later to Pirs.Four out of the five Expedition 63 crew members assessed comfort factors inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon today. This is a demonstration of the Crew Dragon’s habitability ahead of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission planned for later this year.NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who piloted the Crew Dragon, will be joined by station Commander Chris Cassidy and Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin for the one-hour habitability test. The crew will arrange the cabin to suit the four space residents and report their comfort levels to engineers on the ground.While they were setting up Crew Dragon for the test, the three NASA astronauts also had time for ultrasound eye scans, microfluid studies and orbital plumbing work. The two cosmonauts, including Flight Engineer Ivan Vagner, juggled a variety of Russian space research and tested Soyuz crew ship communications gear.Author Mark Garcia Posted on July 8, 2020 Categories Expedition 63
Today is the day! Watch @NASA astronaut @AstroBehnken answer questions live from the @Space_Station at 12:15 pm EDT! Behnken—who launched on the @SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft—will answer prerecorded questions on life in space. Grab your lunch & tune in: nasa.gov/nasalive
NASA's current plan is for Crew Dragon Endeavour to undock from the ISS at ~8 pm ET on Aug. 1, with splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean scheduled for roughly 3 pm ET on Aug. 2.Notably, the return timing is a moving target, especially given weather:https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/17/nasa-plans-to-return-astronauts-in-spacexs-crew-dragon-on-aug-2.html
NASA’s Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for HEOMD, said in a #Glenn2020 talk this morning that they’re still working towards an “early August” return for the Demo-2 commercial crew mission (but did not give a specific date, like Aug. 2.)
NEWS: We're targeting an Aug. 1 departure of @SpaceX's Dragon Endeavour spacecraft from the @Space_Station to bring @AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug home after their historic #LaunchAmerica mission. Splashdown is targeted for Aug. 2. Weather will drive the actual date. Stay tuned.
Los Angeles area by day and by night. Can you spot @SpaceX, the birthplace of our Crew Dragon vehicle?
1 Rocket Road - SpaceX
https://twitter.com/astrobehnken/status/1285331572187594758QuoteTechnology development is one of @Space_Station’s many missions. I recently had the rare opportunity to open the expandable module know as BEAM to perform some activities inside. We both launched on @SpaceX rockets to get here!
Technology development is one of @Space_Station’s many missions. I recently had the rare opportunity to open the expandable module know as BEAM to perform some activities inside. We both launched on @SpaceX rockets to get here!
LIVE FROM SPACE: Check out this helmet cam view from @AstroBehnken during today’s spacewalk. Using the ‘pistol grip tool,’ or PGT, he loosens bolts on hardware outside the @Space_Station.
Spacewalk number ten — complete. twitter.com/NASA/status/12…
The Exp 63 crew demonstrated that the @SpaceX #CrewDragon's systems work at the station. They verified that astronauts can live, work, and sleep while the vehicle is operating in space.
Via Twitter:Eric Berger@SciGuySpace·5mNASA is currently targeting 2:35 p.m. ET (18:35 UTC) on Sunday, August 2, 2020 for the landing of the Dragonship Endeavour mission.
Before 2 astronauts can return to Earth via SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, they'll use a robotic arm to check their ship for space-junk damageDave Mosher 2 hours agoSpaceX on May 30 launched NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to orbit — the private company's first flight of humans.Behnken and Hurley rode SpaceX's new Crew Dragon spaceship, developed with NASA's help, to the International Space Station (ISS).The crew is now wrapping up its test mission and plans to return to Earth in early August.Before Behnken and Hurley come, though, NASA and SpaceX will inspect Crew Dragon's heat shield, which protects the spaceship from 3,500-degree-Fahrenheit temperatures during atmospheric reentry.In the rare event that Crew Dragon's shield has been damaged by micrometeoroids or orbital debris, the two men can stay aboard the ISS until another spaceship arrives to take them home.
Panel member Don McErlean says that landing the Demo-2 mission will be a challenge because of “limited wind margins” on this capsule. Have seven landing sites to choose from off east and west coasts of Florida, up from three.
Here's a map of all the potential Dragon splashdown locations for the Demo-2 mission.Scrollable map: bit.ly/2ZUVd9u
51 years ago today: Apollo 11 splashdown, a safe return from the Moon.45 years ago today: Apollo-Soyuz Test Project splashdown, the last Apollo flight.August 2, 2020: Crew Dragon Endeavour splashdown, the first crewed water landing in 45 years.History in the making.
We will provide live coverage the return of @AstroBehnken & @Astro_Dougto Earth in @SpaceX's Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft. They're scheduled to leave the @Space_Station at 7:34pm ET Aug. 1 & splash down at 2:42pm ET Aug. 2: https://go.nasa.gov/2ZW8xKr
It's happening! Crew Dragon recovery ship GO Navigator has departed from Port Canaveral and is heading to the Gulf of Mexico to support the Demo-2 splashdown.GO Navigator will be positioned to support the 4 potential splashdown locations in the Gulf. (File photo: @Cygnusx112)
July 24, 2020Top 10 Things to Know for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 ReturnHistory was made May 30 when NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley launched from American soil in a commercially built and operated American crew spacecraft on its way to the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft lifted off on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked with the space station on May 31. Now, Behnken and Hurley are ready to return home in Endeavour for a splashdown off the coast of Florida, closing out a mission designed to test SpaceX’s human spaceflight system, including launch, docking, splashdown, and recovery operations.1. Where will Behnken and Hurley splash down?NASA and SpaceX are capable of supporting seven splashdown sites off the coast of Florida for the return of Crew Dragon on its Demo-2 test flight with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley from the International Space Station as part the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The seven potential splashdown sites for Crew Dragon are off the coasts of Pensacola, Tampa, Tallahassee, Panama City, Cape Canaveral, Daytona, and Jacksonville.2. How will a splashdown location be chosen?Splashdown locations are selected using defined priorities, starting with selecting a station departure date and time with the maximum number of return opportunities in geographically diverse locations to protect for weather changes. Teams also prioritize locations which require the shortest amount of time between undocking and splashdown based on orbital mechanics, and splashdown opportunities that occur in daylight hours.Check out the Departure and Splashdown Criteria Fact Sheet for an in-depth look at selecting return locations, decision points during return, and detailed weather criteria.3. How long will it take for Behnken and Hurley to return to Earth?Return time for Behnken and Hurley will vary depending on the undock and splashdown opportunities chosen, with the primary opportunity taking between six and 30 hours.4. What does the return look like? What are the major milestones?Crew Dragon’s return home will start with undocking from the International Space Station. At the time of undock, Dragon Endeavour and its trunk weigh approximately 27,600 pounds. NASA will provide live coverage of the return from undocking all the way through splashdown.There will be two very small engine burns immediately after hooks holding Crew Dragon in place retract to actually separate the spacecraft from the station. Once flying free, Dragon Endeavour will autonomously execute four departure burns to move the spaceship away from the space station and begin the flight home. Several hours later, one departure phasing burn, lasting about six minutes, puts Crew Dragon on the proper orbital path to line it up with the splashdown zone.Shortly before the final deorbit burn, Crew Dragon will separates from its trunk, which will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. The spacecraft then executes the deorbit burn, which commits Crew Dragon to return and places it on an orbit with the proper trajectory for splashdown. After trunk separation and the deorbit burn are complete, the Crew Dragon capsule weighs approximately 21,200 pounds. 5. How fast will Dragon Endeavour be going when it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere? How hot will it get?Crew Dragon will be traveling at orbital velocity prior to re-entry, moving at approximately 17,500 miles per hour. The maximum temperature it will experience on re-entry is approximately 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The re-entry creates a communications blackout between the spacecraft and Earth that is expected to last approximately six minutes.6. When do the parachutes deploy?Dragon Endeavour will has two sets of parachutes will that deploy once back inside Earth’s atmosphere to slow down prior to splashdown. Two drogue parachutes will deploy at about 18,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 350 miles per hour. Four main parachutes will deploy at about 6,000 feet in altitude while Crew Dragon is moving approximately 119 miles per hour.7. Who recovers the crew and the Dragon Endeavour capsule from the water? What vehicles and personnel are involved?For splashdown at any of the seven potential sites, SpaceX personnel will be on location to recover the capsule from the water. Two recovery ships, the Go Searcher and the Go Navigator, split locations between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. On either ship will be more than 40 personnel from SpaceX and NASA, made up of spacecraft engineers, trained water recovery experts, medical professionals, the ship’s crew, NASA cargo experts, and others to assist in the recovery.8. How long after splashdown until Behnken and Hurley are out of the capsule?Immediately after splashdown has occurred, two fast boats with SpaceX personnel deploy from the main recovery ship. The first boat checks capsule integrity and tests the area around the Crew Dragon for the presence of any hypergolic propellant vapors. Once cleared, the personnel on the boats begin preparing the spaceship for recovery by the ship. The second fast boat is responsible for safing and recovering Crew Dragon’s parachutes, which have at this point detached from the capsule and are in the water.At this point the main recovery vessel can move in and begin to hoist the Crew Dragon capsule onto the main deck. Once the capsule is on the recovery vessel, it is moved to a stable location for the hatch to be opened for waiting medical professionals to conduct initial checks and assist Behnken and Hurley out of Dragon Endeavour.This entire process is expected to take approximately 45 to 60 minutes, depending on spacecraft and sea state conditions.9. Where do Behnken and Hurley go after they are out of the capsule?Immediately after exiting the Crew Dragon capsule, Behnken and Hurley will be assisted into a medical area on the recovery ship for initial assessment. This is similar to procedures when welcoming long-duration crew members returning home on Soyuz in Kazakhstan.After initial medical checks, Behnken and Hurley will be returned to shore either by traveling on the primary recovery ship or by helicopter. Helicopter returns from the recovery ship are the baseline for all splashdown zones except for the Cape Canaveral splashdown site, with travel times ranging from approximately 10 minutes to 80 minutes. The distance from shore will be variable depending on the splashdown location, ranging from approximately 22 nautical miles to 175 nautical miles.Once returned to shore, both crew members will immediately board a waiting NASA plane to fly back to Ellington field in Houston.10. What happens next?Meanwhile, Dragon Endeavour will be returned back to the SpaceX Dragon Lair in Florida for inspection and processing. Teams will examine the data and performance of the spacecraft throughout the test flight to complete the certification of the system to fly operational missions for NASA’s Commercial Crew and International Space Station Programs. The certification process is expected to take about six weeks. Following successful certification, the first operational mission will launch with Crew Dragon commander Michael Hopkins, pilot Victor Glover, and mission specialist Shannon Walker – all of NASA – along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Soichi Noguchi will launch on the Crew-1 mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four crew members will spend six months on the space station.The launch is targeted for no earlier than late-September.Last Updated: July 24, 2020Editor: Anna Heiney
NASA astronaut Doug Hurley, along with teams from NASA and SpaceX, rehearse crew extraction from SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, which will be used to carry humans to the International Space Station, on August 13, 2019 at the Trident Basin in Cape Canaveral, Florida.Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is guided by four parachutes as it splashes down in the Atlantic on March 8, 2019, after the uncrewed spacecraft's return from the International Space Station on the Demo-1 mission.Credits: NASA/Cory Huston
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is loaded onto the company’s recovery ship, Go Searcher, in the Atlantic Ocean, about 200 miles off Florida’s east coast, on March 8, after returning from the International Space Station on the Demo-1 mission.Credits: SpaceX
First moments of sunrise from @Space_Station.
Yep, “mini” chocolate cakes for my 50th birthday, because somebody, somewhere, loves me. Thank you @Astro_Megan for making it happen!
.@AstroBehnken and @Astro_Doug are scheduled to return to 🌎 on Sunday. Over the weekend, robotics flight controllers on the ground used #Dextre to inspect @SpaceX Crew Dragon to make sure it is good to go. 📷: CSA/NASA
Good chat with Garrett Reisman (@astro_g_dogg) on Demo-2 return:– Heat shield designed for lunar return, so Bob and Doug have extra margin– Determine amount of shield used by drilling core samples– Recovery ship more equipped than folks realize
.@Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken remain "go" for a weekend return to Earth aboard the @SpaceX #CrewDragon. @NASA TV provides briefing update live at 3:30pm ET. More... go.nasa.gov/2X7EXjy
Stich: After splashdown they'll review the vehicle's data and begin processing the capsule, getting it ready to be launched again for the Crew-2 mission in spring.
Reed shows off a video SpaceX made about the Demo-2 mission thus far.Here's a clip we hadn't seen before, from inside the Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule during liftoff:
Q-still planning 6 wks to complete certification? Accelerate process since mission going so well esp if landing delayed?Stitch: test flight. Need to check all the data. Don't envision accelerating the process.
Reddit group q for Benji: deorbit burn and trunkBenji: fundamentally big difference on trunk jettison. No good detail to provide right now.
From the ongoing DM-2 review media briefing: The Dragon recovery ships will have 44 (!!) people onboard for the recovery operation.5 contractors (GO) driving the vessel, ~20 from SpaceX and ~20 from NASA.
They have the ability to move people between the two vessels (One will be stationed in the Atlantic and the other in Gulf of Mexico) via helicopter, depending on the chosen splashdown site.
With the first crewed water landing in 45 years scheduled for August 2, Benji Reed of @SpaceX reviews the re-entry steps through splashdown that @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken will take aboard Crew Dragon Endeavour for the return of #LaunchAmerica.
NASA and SpaceX Remain GO for SplashdownFollowing a comprehensive review of the latest weather forecast in the areas surrounding each of seven potential splashdown locations, NASA and SpaceX have decided to move forward with plans to bring NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley home to Earth with a splashdown off the Florida coast on Sunday, Aug. 2, aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft.Teams will continue to closely monitor Tropical Storm Isaias and evaluate impacts to weather around the Florida peninsula, including the potential splashdown sites in the Gulf of Mexico and along the state’s Atlantic coast. NASA and SpaceX will make a decision on a primary splashdown target approximately 6 hours before undocking Saturday.Undocking remains scheduled for approximately 7:34 p.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 1, and splashdown at 2:42 p.m. EDT on Sunday. This will mark the first return of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station, and it will wrap up NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission after more than two months at the International Space Station.The Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying Hurley and Behnken lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30 and arrived at the space station the following day. The Demo-2 test flight is helping NASA certify SpaceX’s crew transportation system for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the orbiting laboratory. SpaceX is readying the hardware for the first rotational mission, which would occur following NASA certification.More details about the return can be found in the Top 10 Things to Know for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Return and the splashdown weather criteria fact sheet.
Link for tomorrow’s astronaut Q&A
I asked if they could tell us a little more about the tests they've performed on Crew Dragon Endeavour and whether they feel ready to return.Hurley: We tested interfaces, emergency comms, emergency equipment, and "just generically how we work with the Dragon docked."
What happens after splashdown? 🤔@Astro_Doug explains step by step how the @SpaceX Dragon Endeavour will be recovered after he and @AstroBehnken arrive back to Earth after two months aboard the @Space_Station:
GO Searcher has departed from Port Canaveral to support the Atlantic Ocean Demo-2 landing locations!GO Navigator is already in position to support the Gulf of Mexico landing locations.
Departure: GO Searcher (Crew Dragon support) and GO Quest (support ship) are seen leaving @PortCanaveral just now, likely to support additional backup landing locations for @Astro_Doug and @AstroBehnken's return to Earth in the coming days🇺🇸
GO Quest is also following along but is likely heading to Jacksonville to shelter inland away from the incoming Hurricane Isaias. The ship only returned with OCISLY this morning.
SpaceX & NASA are targeting either Pensacola or Panama City for the return and splashdown of Demo-2 on Sunday, according to the latest FAA flight restrictions:
A NASA spokesperson says that Panama City is the “prime” zone for Demo-2’s splashdown as of the most recent weather briefing, but that could easily change before the “real call” 6 hours before Crew Dragon Endeavour’s deorbit burn.
NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2: Weather Remains ‘GO’ for Return, Live Coverage TomorrowTeams from NASA and SpaceX are proceeding with preparations to bring NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley home to Earth on Sunday, Aug. 2, after receiving a weather briefing this evening from the U.S. Air Force 45th Weather Squadron.Conditions remain “Go” at several of the needed target locations for splashdown and recovery off the Florida coast on Sunday aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon “Endeavour” spacecraft. NASA and SpaceX will make a decision on a primary splashdown target approximately 6 hours before undocking Saturday.Teams continue to closely monitor Hurricane Isaias and evaluate impacts to the landing sites in the Gulf of Mexico along the Florida Panhandle. Teams have several weather decision milestones ahead of and after undocking to adjust the splashdown location and time based on the forecasted conditions for recovery.Undocking remains scheduled for approximately 7:34 p.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 1, and splashdown at 2:42 p.m. EDT on Sunday. This will mark the first return of a commercially built and operated American spacecraft carrying astronauts from the space station, and it will wrap up NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 mission after more than two months at the International Space Station.NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 return coverage is as follows (all times Eastern):Saturday, Aug. 19:10 a.m. – SpaceX Dragon Demo-2 Farewell Ceremony aboard the International Space Station (ceremony begins about 9:15 a.m.)5:15 p.m. – NASA TV undocking coverage begins for the 7:34 p.m. undocking (NASA Television will have continuous coverage from undocking to splashdown)Sunday, Aug. 22:42 p.m. – Splashdown5 p.m. – Administrator post-splashdown news conference from the Johnson Space Center, with the following participants:NASA Administrator Jim BridenstineSteve Stich, manager, NASA’s Commercial Crew ProgramInternational Space Station representativeGwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer, SpaceXNASA Astronaut Office representativeTuesday, Aug. 4 4:30 p.m. – Demo-2 crew news conference at Johnson, with the following participants:NASA astronaut Bob BehnkenNASA astronaut Doug HurleyThe Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying Hurley and Behnken lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 30 and arrived at the space station the following day. The Demo-2 test flight is helping NASA certify SpaceX’s crew transportation system for regular flights carrying astronauts to and from the orbiting laboratory. SpaceX is readying the hardware for the first rotational mission, which would occur following NASA certification.More details about the return can be found in the Top 10 Things to Know for NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 Return and the splashdown weather criteria fact sheet. [both already included up thread]Author Tori Mclendon Posted on July 31, 2020
The SpaceX recovery fleet will shortly be arriving at Jacksonville.They will shelter further inland, attempting to avoid the worst of Hurricane Isaias.
