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SpaceX’s CRS-6 Dragon capsule shortly after being secured on the recovery ship Thursday. The capsule spent more than 38 days in space, delivering over 4,300 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station and returning 3,100 pounds of experiments, equipment, and materials.
Dragon splashed down at 12:42 pm EDT 155 miles off the coast of Long Beach California Thursday afternoon.
CRS-6 ends 38-day mission, splashes down.
SpaceX’s CRS-6 mission to the International Space Station came to an end today, with the Dragon capsule splashing down in the Pacific ocean at 12:42 pm EDT. Launching on April 14 from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, CRS-6 brought more than 4,387 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory. Spending more than a month berthed to the earth-facing port of the Harmony module, Dragon will be returning over 3,100 pounds of experiments, samples, and other materials. Click here for an in-depth look at the returning cargo of CRS-6. The Falcon 9 rocket that launched CRS-6 became one step closer to a successful landing on a recovery barge downrange April 14. Nine minutes after liftoff, the booster almost performed an upright landing on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship, but excessive lateral velocity coupled with sluggish engine response times caused the vehicle to topple over before it could settle itself on the surface. SpaceX’s next cargo run, CRS-7, is scheduled for launch at 11:09 am EDT June 26. Seen above is the CRS-6 spacecraft shortly after unberthing. Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts removed the capsule from the space station at 7:05 am EDT this morning. Check out our complete coverage on the CRS-6 mission by clicking here.
CRS-6 Dragon arrives at Space Station.
After all the attention the it’s Falcon 9 landing is getting, the CRS-6 Dragon spacecraft that it launched on Tuesday was successfully captured and berthed to the International Space Station earlier today (Friday, 17 April, 2015). Following three days of orbital maneuvers to catch up with the orbiting outpost, the spacecraft was captured by the station’s Canadarm 2 at 6:55 AM EDT. Just over two and a half hours later, Dragon was berthed to the nadir, or Earth-facing port of the Harmony module at 9:29 AM EDT.
Over the course of the next 24 hours, Dragon’s hatch will be opened depending on crew members orbital scheduled. Ingress expected mid-Saturday. Photos via Terry Virts.
Falcon 9 landing attempt from the perspective of the ASDS.
A second video of Tuesday’s Falcon 9 landing attempt has been published online. This time, it is from one of the many cameras on the surface of the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship, or ASDS. In the HD video, the first stage of the Falcon 9 can be seen coming to a landing on the platform’s surface. The excessive lateral velocity that eventually toppled the vehicle is obvious.
Details of the rocket itself are obvious, such as the nitrogen control jets and grid fins at the top of the stage, the structure of landing legs, and engine compartment. As could be somewhat seen in the previous video, the amount of charring on the lower portion of the vehicle from atmospheric entry and engine blowback is obvious. Compared to the official video SpaceX released yesterday, the above camera on the barge was located on the opposite side of the vehicle. The video was originally posted here. A second camera on the ASDS provided our first images of the landing minutes after it occurred, though SpaceX only released still frames.
The Dragon capsule for the CRS-6 mission is seen during mating to the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage, Friday, April 10, 2015.
The capsule will bring over 4,300 pounds of science experiments, supplies, and cargo to the International Space Station, including a number of items originally intended to arrive on the failed Orb3 flight last October. Also part of the cargo on CRS-6 is the first microgravity espresso maker to fly to the station.
Dubbed ISSpresso, the Italian-based experiment will create fresh brewed coffee and tea for crew members. Sponsored by the Italian Space Agency, Argotec and LaVazza, the members of ISS Expeditions - including current Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti - should have a little bit of home up there on orbit with them. Click here for more info on ISSpresso.
Gifset of yesterday’s Falcon 9 landing attempt. The full 1080p video that SpaceX released can be seen here.
A new, longer video of yesterday’s attempted Falcon 9 landing has just been released by SpaceX.
In the high-quality video, the final seconds of the Falcon 9′s flight are captured - including approach to the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship, settling on its surface and eventual explosion.
About 250 feet above the ASDS, the rocket’s four landing legs are deployed while a single Merlin 1D engine performs the final breaking burn. As the rocket approaches the platform, nitrogen thrusters at the very top of the stage help stabilize the final approach.
However, overcompensation of the Merlin engine on final approach caused excessive lateral velocity, which ultimately tipped the rocket over after contacting the platform’s surface. A single nitrogen thruster tried to provide thrust to keep the rocket vertical, but to no avail.
The vehicle then exploded, sending rocket components hurtling into the air, into the ocean, and across the surface of the barge.
Late yesterday, Elon Musk stated that the failed landing was caused by "stiction in the biprop throttle valve, resulting in control system phase lag.” This means that the first stage engine was unable to make corrections as fast as the stage’s landing control system computer could determine them.
For the initial video released by SpaceX, which cuts off at the moment of barge contact, click here.
SpaceX releases footage of attempted barge landing of Falcon 9 rocket.
The video above was taken from a chase plane in the vicinity of SpaceX's Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship. The first stage of the Falcon 9 can be seen approaching the barge, sleeping down for landing, and disrupting the ocean nearby. The video ends around the moment when the rocket should have landed, thereby not showing the rocket's fate.
In a tweet shortly after the attempt, Elon Musk stated that the rocket had too much lateral velocity to remain upright, and toppled over.
