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:
For more information about NASA's commercial space programs, visit:
'Snow White' Coating Protects SpaceX Dragon's Trunk Against Rigors of Spac
03.25.13
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."
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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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)
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)
