May 31, 2012

The American SpaceX company’s Dragon cargo capsule splashed down today in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California. The capsule’s return to Earth caps a historic first mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by a privately operated vehicle.

Dragon, the first commercial spacecraft, delivered the goods to the ISS on May 25. Lofted into orbit from Cape Canaveral on May 22 on a Falcon 9 rocket, the unpiloted space capsule was captured by ISS crew members using the station’s robot arm. “Looks like we got us a dragon by the tail,” reported astronaut Don Pettit after the successful maneuver. The Falcon, built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne, California–also known as SpaceX–is the first American spacecraft to visit the ISS since NASA conducted its last shuttle flight in July 2011. NASA has been relying on cargo transports launched by Russia, Japan, and the European Union to ferry supplies to the space station.

Crew members entered Dragon on May 26 and unloaded the 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of food, clothing, water, and other supplies inside. The space capsule also carried 15 science experiments designed by U.S. students, the third round of experiments launched into space under the Student Flight Experiments Program (SSEP). The experiments, known collectively as Aquarius, will assess the effects of microgravity on physical, chemical, and biological systems, according to NASA. The SSEP experiments carried by Dragon will be the first completed by ISS crew members. The previous two payloads of experiments were completed on shuttles in 2011.

The Falcon 9 and its Dragon space capsule, the first nongovernmental space vehicle launched to the International Space Station, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 22, 2012. (NASA TV)

Unpiloted spacecraft have been carrying supplies to the ISS since 2000. However, Dragon is the only transport vehicle designed to carry cargo back to Earth. All the other resupply vehicles burn up in the atmosphere on their return. SpaceX has a $1.6-billion contract to fly at least 12 delivery missions to the ISS over the next few years.

Additional World Book articles:

• Musk, Elon
• Rocket
• Space exploration
• Thirty Years of Discovery (a Special Report)

May 25, 2012

Dragon delivered the goods on Friday morning, becoming the first commercial spacecraft to dock at the International Space Station (ISS). Lofted into orbit on May 22 on a Falcon 9 rocket, the unpiloted space capsule was captured by ISS crew members using the station’s robot arm. “Looks like we got us a dragon by the tail,” reported astronaut Don Pettit after the successful maneuver. The Falcon, built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of Hawthorne, California–also known as SpaceX–is the first American spacecraft to visit the ISS since NASA conducted its last shuttle flight in July 2011. NASA has been relying on cargo transports launched by Russia, Japan, and the European Union to ferry supplies to the space station.

Crew members planned to enter Dragon on Saturday morning and unload the 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of food, clothing, water, and other supplies inside. The space capsule also carried 15 science experiments designed by U.S. students, the third round of experiments launched into space under the Student Flight Experiments Program (SSEP). The experiments, known collectively as Aquarius, will assess the effects of microgravity on physical, chemical, and biological systems, according to NASA. The SSEP experiments carried by Dragon will be the first completed by ISS crew members. The previous two payloads of experiments were completed on shuttles in 2011.

The Falcon 9 and its Dragon space capsule, the first nongovernmental space vehicle launched to the International Space Station, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 22, 2012. (NASA TV)

Dragon was scheduled to leave the ISS on May 31 and splash down in the Pacific Ocean. Unpiloted spacecraft have been carrying supplies to the ISS since 2000. However, Dragon is the only transport vehicle designed to carry cargo back to Earth. All the other resupply vehicles burn up in the atmosphere on their return. SpaceX has a $1.6-billion contract to fly at least 12 delivery missions to the ISS over the next few years.

Additional World Book articles:

• Musk, Elon
• Rocket
• Space exploration
• Thirty Years of Discovery (a Special Report)

May 22, 2012

A new era in space flight lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 22 with the final test flight of the Falcon 9 rocket, the first nongovernment spacecraft launched to the International Space Station (ISS). The unpiloted Falcon, built by Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is scheduled to rendezvous with the ISS on Thursday, May 24. The next day, crew members will attempt to grab the Dragon space capsule carried into orbit by Falcon and attach it to the station’s Harmony module. If all goes well, crew members will enter Dragon on Saturday morning and unload the 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms) of food, clothing, water, and other supplies inside.

Dragon is scheduled to leave the ISS on May 31 with completed scientific experiments and other cargo and splash down in the Pacific Ocean. Unpiloted spacecraft have been carrying supplies to the ISS since 2000. However, Dragon is the only transport vehicle designed to carry cargo back to Earth. All the other resupply vehicles burn up in the atmosphere on their return. Space Exploration Technologies, also known as SpaceX, has a $1.6-billion contract to fly at least 12 delivery missions to the ISS over the next few years.

The Falcon 9 and its Dragon space capsule, the first nongovernmental space vehicle launched to the International Space Station, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 22, 2012. (NASA TV)

Today’s launch of the Falcon 9 represents a major step in NASA‘s effort to shift to commercial spacecraft for transporting supplies and crew members into low-Earth orbit. Since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011, NASA has been relying on cargo transports launched by Russia, Japan, and the European Union. SpaceX is one of several private companies that have won NASA contracts to develop an American space transport vehicle. SpaceX launched the Falcon rocket on two test flights in 2010. In December, Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to safely orbit and return to Earth. The company also plans to develop a version of the Dragon capsule that can transport people into space.

The Falcon rocket is named for the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo’s spaceship in the Star Wars trilogy. The Dragon space capsule got its name from the 1962 song “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” popularized by the singing group Peter, Paul, and Mary. Several news sources reported that the second stage of the Falcon rocket carried the ashes of more than 300 people, including American astronaut Gordon Cooper and actor James Doohan, who played engineer Montgomery Scott in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures.

Additional World Book articles:

• Musk, Elon
• Rocket
• Space exploration
• Thirty Years of Discovery (a Special Report)

April 18, 2012

The U. S. space shuttle Discovery made its final voyage on Tuesday, April 17, hitching a ride aboard a modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Discovery was flown from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Dulles International Airport in Virginia. There, the shuttle is to become an exhibit at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum annex in Chantilly. Discovery replaced the shuttle prototype Enterprise, which will go on exhibit in New York City.

Columbia was the first space shuttle to be launched into space, in 1981. (Courtesy of NASA)

Discovery first flew into space in August 1984, on a mission to deploy three communications satellites. It was the third shuttle in the fleet, following Columbia and Challenger. Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space in 1990. After the explosions of Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, Discovery, along with the shuttles Atlantis and Endeavour, carried on the task of ferrying parts and crew members to build the International Space Station (ISS). Construction of the ISS began in 1998, and the shuttles completed the delivery of major station modules by 2011. Discovery flew 39 missions in all, more than any other shuttle. Since its first flight, Discovery has logged more than 148 million miles (238 million kilometers) and spent a cumulative 365 days in space.

The U.S. fleet of space shuttles was instrumental in building the ISS, a space station program in which 15 nations are involved.  (Courtesy of NASA)

President George W. Bush announced plans in 2004 to end the space shuttle program. By that time, engineers had become concerned about the safety of the aging vehicle–the first reusable spacecraft. The government determined that private contractors would take over the shuttle’s responsibilities at the ISS and that NASA would devote its resources to exploring space. The shuttle Endeavour was slated to be put on exhibit in Los Angeles, while Atlantis was to remain at the Kennedy Space Center. Nearly 2,000 people gathered to see Discovery’s final voyage and to mark the end of an amazing era of space exploration.

Additional World Book articles:

• Thirty Years of Discovery (a special report)
• Seeing the Universe in a Different Light (a special report)
• Space exploration 1981 (Back in Time article)
• Space exploration 1984 (Back in Time article)
• Space exploration 1986 (Back in Time article)
• Space exploration 1990 (Back in Time article)
• Space exploration 2000 (Back in Time article)
• Space exploration 2003 (Back in Time article)
• Space exploration 2011 (Back in Time article)

Nov. 16, 2011

Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft, carrying an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts, docked successfully at the International Space Station today. The Soyuz, which took off from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome (space-launch facility) in Kazakhstan on November 14, is now the only means of reaching the Space Station. The United States retired its space shuttle fleet in July of this year. (The space shuttle, which was initially launched in 1981, was the first reusable spaceship and the first spacecraft able to land at an ordinary airfield.) 

The International Space Station functions as an observatory, laboratory, and workshop. Copyright NASA.

The International Space Station, a large, inhabited Earth satellite, is operated by more than 15 nations. It orbits Earth at an altitude of about 250 miles (400 kilometers). The initial sections were first launched into space in 1998. The station has been inhabited since 2000. The first full-time crew consisted of U.S. astronaut William Shepherd and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev. The station’s crew operates various kinds of laboratory equipment that measures the effects of space conditions on biological specimens–including on themselves.

Additional World Book articles:

• Rocket
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Space exploration
• Space exploration 1981 (Back in Time article)
• Space exploration 1998 (Back in Time article)