2 months ago
A Crew Dragon docked astatine nan ISS.
NASA
Friday will spot a caller arena for nan International Space Station (ISS) arsenic a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is utilized to boost its altitude for nan first time. As resistance useful connected nan abstraction station, its altitude gradually degrades complete time, and truthful it needs to beryllium fixed an occasional push to support it astatine its correct altitude, astir 250 miles from nan Earth’s surface.
The reboost is scheduled for today, November 8, arsenic 1 of nan Dragons that is presently docked to nan abstraction position will occurrence its thrusters for astir 12.5 minutes. There are presently 2 Dragons docked — 1 of which carried unit and 1 of which carried cargo to nan station. The cargo conveyance will execute nan boost maneuver. As this is nan first clip this has been attempted, NASA and SpaceX unit will observe nan arena carefully.
“The information that we’re going to cod from this reboost and altitude power objection will beryllium very helpful,” said Jared Metter, SpaceX head of formation reliability. Metter besides said that nan information would beryllium important for a early occupation of SpaceX: deorbiting nan abstraction station successful nan 2030s erstwhile it comes to nan extremity of its life.
The occupation of boosting nan abstraction position has traditionally been performed by Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but NASA has been looking for different solution to lessen its dependence connected Russia, peculiarly pursuing nan penetration of Ukraine. The thought of utilizing a Crew Dragon for reboosting not only nan ISS, but besides different missions specified arsenic nan Hubble Space Telescope, has been raised successful caller years arsenic nan vehicles person been often utilized for carrying some astronauts and cargo to nan position and back.
There were besides occasional tests of utilizing Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo vehicles to reboost nan station, but these cargo vehicles are designed to beryllium expendable — they are sent to nan position to transportation cargo, but past are disposed of successful abstraction alternatively than landing backmost connected Earth — truthful they are not ideally suited to reboosting. The Dragon is besides not specifically designed to do this job, arsenic its main task is to transportation cargo, but nan action to usage it will springiness much information connected eventual ISS deorbit plans. The Dragon arrived astatine nan position carrying astir 6,000 pounds of supplies this week and will enactment docked until it returns to Earth.
There person been immoderate different issues pinch SpaceX launches utilizing its Falcon 9 rocket recently, which are notable arsenic nan rocket is mostly truthful reliable. But NASA said it was assured that SpaceX could proceed to do nan job.
“We activity very intimately pinch SpaceX connected everything that we do comparative to these Dragon launches,” said Bill Spetch, operations integration head for nan NASA’s International Space Station Program. “They stock information pinch america very freely, and we activity done each nan issues jointly. We evidently ever support a apical privilege connected nan information of nan vehicles coming to ISS, and truthful that really hasn’t changed for us.”
Georgina has been nan abstraction writer astatine Digital Trends abstraction writer for six years, covering quality abstraction exploration, planetary…
SpaceX shares spectacular close-up footage of Starship motorboat and landing
SpaceX has shared footage, which you tin watch below, showing a spectacular close-up position of nan Starship’s motorboat and landing connected Sunday.
The ngo progressive nan 5th trial formation of nan Starship, comprising nan first-stage Super Heavy booster and upper-stage Starship spacecraft.
Read more
SpaceX conscionable caught a immense rocket booster for nan first time. Now what?
It was an astonishing spectacle. A 70-meter-tall SpaceX rocket performing a controlled descent toward a mini target wherever 2 elephantine mechanical arms were waiting to clasp it conscionable meters supra nan ground.
Sunday’s bold effort was SpaceX’s first effort astatine “catching” nan Super Heavy booster, and to galore people’s surprise, it nailed it.
Read more
NASA’s Crew-8 astronauts will enactment successful orbit a small longer
NASA and SpaceX's 4 Crew-8 astronauts will beryllium staying successful their impermanent location connected nan International Space Station (ISS) for a small while longer, arsenic their departure has been delayed owed to inclement weather. The return of nan 4 unit members to Earth has already been pushed backmost erstwhile and was slated to spell up today, Sunday, October 13, but nan was called disconnected this greeting owed to adverse upwind conditions astatine nan splashdown area disconnected nan seashore of Florida.
The 4 unit members -- NASA’s Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin -- dress up nan Crew-8 ngo and will return to Earth connected a SpaceX Dragon. But pinch nan hurricanes and utmost upwind conditions affecting Florida recently, NASA officials chose to fto nan unit members stay successful orbit alternatively than person them effort to scatter down successful perchance difficult conditions.
Read more
English (US) · 
Indonesian (ID) ·