NASA - SpaceX Dragon Spacecraft Returns Critical NASA Science to Earth

WASHINGTON -- A Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft successfully completed the company's second cargo flight to the International Space Station on Tuesday, March 26, with a 12:36 p.m. EDT splashdown in the Pacific Ocean a few hundred miles west of Baja California, Mexico.

"The scientific research delivered and being returned by Dragon enables advances in every aspect of NASA's diverse space station science portfolio, including human research, biology and physical sciences," said Julie Robinson, International Space Station Program scientist. "There are more than 200 active investigations underway aboard our orbiting laboratory in space. The scientific community has eagerly awaited the return of today's Dragon to see what new insights the returned samples and investigations it carries will unveil."

Science being conducted aboard the space station includes research on physical and biological processes that cannot be done anywhere else, applied research to improve lives on Earth, and exploration research to help humans move safely beyond Earth orbit.

A boat will take the Dragon capsule to a port near Los Angeles, where it will be prepared for a return journey to SpaceX's test facility in McGregor, Texas, for processing. Some cargo will be removed at the port in California and returned to NASA within 48 hours. This includes a freezer packed with research samples collected in the space station's unique microgravity environment. The remainder of the cargo will be returned to Texas with the capsule.

Dragon is the only space station resupply spacecraft able to return a significant amount of cargo to Earth. The spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on March 1, carrying about 1,268 pounds (575 kilograms) of supplies and investigations. It returned about 2,668 pounds (1,210 kilograms) of science samples, equipment and education activities.

Investigations included among the returned cargo could aid in food production during future long-duration space missions and enhance crop production on Earth. Others could help in the development of more efficient solar cells, detergents and semiconductor-based electronics.

Among the returned investigations was the Coarsening in Solid-Liquid Mixtures (CSLM-3) experiment, which also launched to space aboard this Dragon. CLSM-3 studies how crystals known as dendrites form as a metal alloy becomes solid. The research could help engineers develop stronger materials for use in automobile, aircraft and spacecraft parts.

Dragon also is returning several human research samples that will help scientists continue to examine how the human body reacts to long-term spaceflight. The results will have implications for future space exploration and direct benefits here on Earth.

The mission was the second of at least 12 cargo resupply trips SpaceX plans to make to the space station through 2016 under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract.

SpaceX is one of two companies to build and test new cargo spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., is the other company participating in COTS. A demonstration flight of Orbital's Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft to the station is planned for later this year.

NASA initiatives such as COTS and the agency's Commercial Crew Program are helping develop a robust U.S. commercial space transportation industry with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the space station and low Earth orbit. In addition to cargo flights, NASA's commercial space partners are making progress toward a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil in the next few years.

While NASA works with U.S. industry partners to develop and advance these commercial spaceflight capabilities, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration in the solar system.

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

For more information about NASA's commercial space programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/commercial

 'Snow White' Coating Protects SpaceX Dragon's Trunk Against Rigors of Spac

03.25.13

 

View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as the robotic arm moves Dragon into place for attachment to the station May 25, 2012. (NASA)
View large image

Miria Finckenor, materials engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center, removes a sample from a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Passive Experiment Container at Langley Research Center. Approximately 35 members of the MISSE team traveled from across the country to witness the "grand opening" of MISSE-1 and 2 in 2005. (NASA/Jeff Caplan)
View large image He described it as "snow white." But NASA astronaut Don Pettit was not referring to the popular children's fairy tale.

Rather, he was talking about the white coating of the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft that reflected from the International Space Station's light. As it approached the station for the first time in May 2012, the Dragon's trunk might have been described as the "fairest of them all," for its pristine coating, allowing Pettit to clearly see to maneuver the robotic arm to grab the Dragon for a successful nighttime berthing.

This protective thermal control coating, developed by Alion Science and Technology Corp., based in McLean, Va., made its bright appearance again with the March 1 launch of SpaceX's second commercial resupply mission. Named Z-93C55, the coating was applied to the cargo portion of the Dragon to protect it from the rigors of space.

"For decades, Alion has produced coatings to protect against the rigors of space," said Michael Kenny, senior chemist with Alion. "As space missions evolved, there was a growing need to dissipate electrical charges that build up on the exteriors of spacecraft, or there could be damage to the spacecraft's electronics. Alion's research led us to develop materials that would meet this goal while also providing thermal controls. The outcome of this research was Alion's proprietary Z-93C55 coating."

Kenny said Alion thoroughly tested the newly formulated coatings in the lab and provided them for NASA's Materials International Space Station Experiments (MISSE)-1 and 2 for further evaluation. MISSE-1 and 2, a test bed for materials and coatings flown on the outside of the station, evaluated the effects of atomic oxygen, direct sunlight, and extremes of heat and cold. The experiment allowed the development and testing of new materials to better withstand space environments, and the results provided an improved understanding of the durability of various materials when they are exposed to the space environment.

"Z-93C55 performed beyond expectations on MISSE, so it is now a viable alternative to the standard thermal control coatings," said Kenny. "The flight data provided through the MISSE experiments was essential to its development."

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., was responsible for performing the pre- and post-flight measurements of these coating materials.

"We measured the optical properties the same as we would for flight hardware, before and after the MISSE flight," said Miria Finckenor, Marshall engineer and MISSE investigator. "We also looked for any mass loss, any cracking or flaking, and any changes in fluorescence due to space environmental effects."

NASA astronaut Don Pettit talks about Alion Science and Technology Corp.'s protective thermal control coating being snow white in this video. (NASA)
"The optical properties needed to be stable," added Finckenor. "If the coating darkened, then the capsule would be warmer, causing any active thermal control system to work harder, which could limit the life of the thermal control system and thus the life span of the spacecraft."

Z-93C55 is a two-part system consisting of a pigment and a binder solution. Special additives enhance electrical conductivity without affecting thermal control properties, so the cured coating can handle high temperatures and survive the stresses of launching.

"The coating is actually an improved version of our Z-93P coating, which has had a long history in the aerospace industry," said Kenny. "It was used on Apollo missions, the station's radiators and many other missions. Z-93C55 is a thoroughly tested and qualified material, having gone through extensive testing in space simulation chambers and experimental missions."

The coating also was used on NASA's Juno, Gravity Recovery and Interior (GRAIL) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, among others.

Because shipping aerospace hardware to coating facilities is often challenging, costly and time consuming, the Alion engineers created a portable coatings application system.

This unit can be easily transported to anywhere in the world efficiently and is much more cost-effective. Experts sprayed more than 250 square feet of coatings -- about 10 gallons for each trunk -- onsite at SpaceX facilities in California and Florida to prepare for launch.

"When most people think about coatings, they're probably thinking about paint that makes their bedroom or kitchen look good, or a shiny coat of wax for their car," said Kenny. "But we get to work on coatings that help critical systems perform better and last longer, in space and here on Earth. And that means we're helping important missions of all kinds succeed, every day."

 

 

Jessica Eagan
International Space Station Program Science Office
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

 

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