A robotic SpaceX cargo craft will start its journey dwelling to Earth on Monday afternoon (Jan. 9), and you may watch the motion stay.
An uncrewed Dragon capsule is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) Monday at 5:05 p.m. EST (2205 GMT), wrapping up a six-week keep in orbit. If all goes in line with plan, the spacecraft will splash down off the coast of Florida on Wednesday (Jan. 11).
Watch Dragon’s departure stay right here at Space.com, courtesy of NASA, or instantly by way of the space company; protection will start at 4:45 p.m. EST (1945 GMT).
Related: Facts about the International Space Station
The Dragon launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Nov. 26, carrying about 7,700 kilos (3,500 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS. This gear included two new International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs), which NASA astronauts put in throughout two spacewalks final month.
The capsule additionally carried a wide range of scientific experiments on this mission, often known as CRS-26 as a result of it was the twenty sixth robotic resupply flight to the ISS flown by SpaceX. One investigation is rising dwarf cherry tomatoes on the orbiting lab to check off-Earth meals manufacturing, for instance, whereas one other continues ongoing research with 3D-cultured heart tissue in microgravity (opens in new tab).
The CRS-26 Dragon will carry about 4,400 kilos (2,000 kg) of provides and scientific gear again right down to Earth with it, NASA officials said (opens in new tab).
This return functionality is exclusive to Dragon. The different presently operational ISS resupply craft — Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus car and Russia’s Progress — are designed to dissipate in Earth’s atmosphere after they depart the orbiting lab.
Mike Wall is the writer of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide in regards to the seek for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
