SpaceX’s 31st robotic cargo mission has returned to Earth.
SpaceX dragon Cargo compartment splash down Leaving the coast of Florida today (December 17) at 1:39 PM EST (1839 GMT), international space station (International Space Station).
CRS-31 returned to Earth carrying thousands of pounds of equipment and experimental samples from the space station’s ongoing microgravity research. Dragon is currently the only cargo spacecraft capable of safely returning equipment and experiments to the International Space Station Earth. Two other freighters in operation – Northrop Grumman freighters Cygnus spaceships and russia progress Space capsule – faced the incineration of the hot atmosphere upon re-entry, along with the space station waste it was filled with.
CRS-31 Dragon Launched to the International Space Station On November 4, aboard SpaceX departed from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Falcon 9 The rocket flies to low Earth orbit. A day later, the spacecraft rendezvoused with the orbiting laboratory, delivering approximately 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of science and supplies for the Expedition 71 astronauts on board.
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Those astronauts include NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suny Williams, who were originally launched to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s first crewed flight. starliner June spacecraft. Starliner complications turned an eight-day mission aboard the International Space Station for two astronauts into an eight-month stay. NASA final decision Let the interstellar airliner return to earth unmanned; Wilmore and Williams will fly on SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission in February, which arrives at the space station in September.
When the Starliner launched, the International Space Station needed a replacement pump for its urine disposal system, and Wilmore and Williams were tasked with delivering the pump. However, in order to make room on the spacecraft, the two astronauts were forced to leave behind their own luggage, including a change of clothes and other personal belongings.
After Wilmore and Williams arrive, CRS-31 will be preceded by two other cargo missions – Cygnus and Progress – that can provide astronauts with used clothing from the space station and provide them with Provide your own shirt and toothbrush. However, each cargo mission brings welcome items to the space station crew, including favorite fresh fruits and vegetables.
The cargo delivered by CRS-31 to the International Space Station last month included fresh food, research equipment, maintenance supplies and personal items to help sustain astronauts in orbit.
NASA will recover the CRS-31 Dragon spacecraft relatively quickly after splashdown, thereby benefiting from any experiments that need to be attended quickly after reentry. The experiments will be transported to NASA’s Systems Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center, where scientists can continue research in a post-microgravity environment.
Dragon’s departure from the International Space Station was originally scheduled for December 6, but bad weather in the splashdown zone has repeatedly delayed it.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on December 17 at 1:55 pm ET with news of the successful splashdown.