SpaceX Dragon capsule splashes down in Pacific

[Buster's Uncle]

SpaceX Dragon capsule splashes down in Pacific
USA Today Network
James Dean, Florida Today 9:53 p.m. ET March 19, 2017



The SpaceX Dragon capsule detached from the ISS early Sunday morning.
(Photo: NASA)



The SpaceX Dragon officially splashed down in the Pacific.

After carrying nearly 5,500 pounds of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station on Feb. 23, the SpaceX Dragon capsule detached and began its descent to earth early Sunday morning before deploying its chutes and landing in the ocean at 11:48 a.m. ET Sunday.

Just after 5 a.m., NASA and SpaceX announced that the capsule had detached from the space station and completed its necessary three departure burns to begin making its way back to earth. The Dragon was carrying science and research cargo back from the ISS.

"Today we said good bye to the #Dragon! She is taking part of us back to the ground with her – important scientific samples, some from the crew!" Tweeted French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, who is on a six-month mission aboard the ISS.

It was a busy weekend for space fans. On Saturday night, a Delta IV rocket bearing the Air Force’s 70th anniversary “breaking barriers” logo roared from Cape Canaveral to deliver a military communications satellite to orbit.

The 217-foot United Launch Alliance rocket lit a main engine and four solid rocket motors at 8:18 p.m. ET to leap from Launch Complex 37 with 1.7 million pounds of thrust, about a half-hour later than planned after engineers resolved a launch pad arm problem.

At 9 p.m., the rocket deployed the ninth Wideband Global Satcom spacecraft, the latest addition to the Department of Defense’s highest-capacity space-based communications network.

Each WGS satellite provides 10 times more bandwidth than the entire constellation that preceded the program, supporting everything from tactical operations to drone video to communication between military leaders.



A Delta IV rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday, March 18, 2017. (Photo: Craig Bailey, FLORIDA TODAY-USA TODAY NETWORK)


“WGS is just one of many examples of advances in military technology, and I can’t think of a better mission to recognize the Air Force’s 70th birthday,” said Bob Tarleton, director of military satellite communications systems at the Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles.

International collaboration made the WGS-9 mission possible. Five allies in 2012 agreed to pay for the Boeing-built satellite, which have an average cost of $424 million.

The deal gave Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand access to the network proportional with their investment. Australia paid for the sixth satellite in the series.

“Military operations are increasingly dependent on capabilities based in space,” said Brig. Gen. Blaise Frawley of the Royal Canadian Air Force.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2017/03/19/spacex-dragon-capsule-splashes-down-pacific/99397050/

[Unorthodox]

but did it finally return safely? 

[Buster's Uncle]

I thought that's what was indicated by the headline and all...

[gwillybj]

Yes, all good. Just a little scorched like the Apollo capsules were. A power wash and some new paint and it'll be ready to fly again.

[Buster's Uncle]

Or is the question related to getting human-rated?

[Unorthodox]

Yes, yes, the capsule itself is fine, but has it finally managed to not have internal failures ruin the experiments on board? 

IIRC this is the first one they were supposed to go back and attempt to 'harden' their systems against radiation because the others kept having failures.  And yes, that's a big step to being human rated.