OrbitalHub

NASA dicit:

“The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft undocks from the International Space Station on March 8, 2019 after nearly 5 days aboard the orbiting laboratory during the company’s Demo-1 mission for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and descends to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Just over 5 hours later, the uncrewed spacecraft splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida and is recovered by SpaceX teams.”

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dicit:

“Demonstration Mission-1 (Demo-1) was an uncrewed flight test designed to demonstrate a new commercial capability developed under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The mission began March 2, when the Crew Dragon launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and racked up a number of “firsts” in less than a week.

First commercially-built and operated American crew spacecraft and rocket to launch from American soil on a mission to the space station.
First commercially-built and operated American crew spacecraft to dock with the space station.
First autonomous docking of a U.S. spacecraft to the International Space Station.
First use of a new, global design standard for the adapters that connect the space station and Crew Dragon, and also will be used for the Orion spacecraft for NASA’s future mission to the Moon.

NASA and SpaceX teams gathered in the early morning hours at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California, to follow the spacecraft’s return journey and ocean splashdown.”

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dicit:

“Launched on March 2, 2019, from Kennedy Space Center aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, the SpaceX Crew Dragon successfully reached low-Earth orbit and docked autonomously to the International Space Station. This first, uncrewed demonstration flight of the Crew Dragon is an end-to-end test of all the spacecraft’s system and provides NASA valuable data toward certifying it to fly astronauts.”

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dicit:

“Crew Dragon is designed to transport up to four astronauts for NASA missions, along with critical cargo and supplies, to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The Crew Dragon features solar arrays affixed to the side of the spacecraft’s trunk, a launch escape system that will allow crew members to escape an anomaly at any point during flight, a large hatch and windows, and a redesigned outer mold line to enhance crew comfort. The first uncrewed flight is an important step in returning human launches on American rockets and spacecraft to the space station from U.S. soil since 2011.

Astronauts will board the SpaceX Crew Dragon using the Crew Access Arm, which provides a bridge to the spacecraft from the crew access tower at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A.”

Video Credit: NASA/SpaceX

NASA dicit:

“Countdown and liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the company’s Crew Dragon onboard on Demo-1, the first uncrewed flight test of the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Launch was at 2:49 a.m. EST on March 2, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Demo-1 is the first time a commercially built and operated American spacecraft designed for humans will dock to the International Space Station.”

Video Credit: NASA/SpaceX

NASA dicit:

“One small box of technology is getting NASA one step closer to future exploration missions. The Robotic Refueling Mission 3, or RRM3, will prove technologies to transfer and store common consumables, like spacecraft fuel, in space. NASA has its eyes on human exploration, including venturing forward to the Moon and Mars. First, the agency must develop and perfect the technologies and capabilities needed for these missions. Affixed to the International Space Station, RRM3 will use a suite of three tools and the station’s robotic handyman, Dextre, to transfer and store cryogenic propellant (e.g., liquid methane). These capabilities have applications ranging from in-situ resource utilization to solar electric propulsion to maintaining long-term life support systems.

RRM3 builds on the first two phases of International Space Station technology demonstrations that tested tools, technologies and techniques to refuel and repair satellites in orbit. It is developed and operated by the Satellite Servicing Projects Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, under direction of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.”

Video Credit: NASA Goddard