Fwd: Heavy seas delay return of SpaceX Dragon capsule

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: October 21, 2014 9:58:56 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Heavy seas delay return of SpaceX Dragon capsule

 

 

Heavy seas delay return of SpaceX Dragon capsule

James Dean, FLORIDA TODAY 12:24 p.m. EDT October 20, 2014

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL Sunday, Sept. 21, 2014. The rocket is carrying supplies for the International Space Station. (AP Photo, Craig Bailey, Florida Today) (Photo: Craig Bailey Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY)

(Photo: NASA )

Heavy seas have delayed a SpaceX Dragon capsule's return home from space this week.

Instead of on Tuesday, the unmanned cargo craft's departure from the International Space Station is now planned just before 10 a.m. Saturday, setting up a splashdown less than six hours later in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California.

A deorbit burn is expected at 2:43 p.m., followed by a parachute-assisted splashdown around 3:39 p.m.

The Dragon will re-enter the atmosphere carrying nearly 3,300 pounds of equipment and science experiments. It's the only spacecraft flying today that can return large amounts of cargo to Earth.

SpaceX launched the Dragon Sept. 21 from Cape Canaveral and it docked at the station two days later.

The mission is the company's fourth of a dozen under a $1.6 billion NASA resupply contract.

Contact Dean at 321-242-3668 or jdean@floridatoday.com.

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