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After an eventful stay on the International Space Station, four astronauts from the NASA Crew-2 mission are scheduled to return to Earth on Monday.
Here’s what you need to know about their journey home.
When will the astronauts leave the space station?
On Monday, crew members will don their spacesuits, attach to a SpaceX-built Crew Dragon capsule, and then leave the space station a few hours later at 2:05 p.m. Eastern time.
The return journey will take just over 8 hours, and the capsule, nicknamed Endeavor, is expected to land at approximately 10:33 PM ET on Monday.
NASA will broadcast live broadcast The takeoff process began at 11:45 a.m. Monday on NASA TV and YouTube, just before the four astronauts closed the hatch of their spacecraft. After a short break, coverage will resume at 1:45 PM and will last until the capsule’s splash.
Where will the astronauts land?
Shortly before disembarking, NASA and SpaceX will select one of seven different locations in the waters around the Florida peninsula for the Crew Dragon’s launch site, choosing which area has the most suitable weather. Clear skies, calm seas and gentle winds are the basic conditions for a space taxi jump.
What will astronauts travel with?
The Crew Dragon is a gum-shaped astronaut capsule that can seat up to seven people, but has only flown up to four so far. It has more interior space than a minivan, but less than a studio apartment.
The capsule launches into space atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, detaches from the booster once in orbit, and uses a series of small onboard thrusters to propel it slowly towards a rendezvous with the International Space Station. The spacecraft approaches the space station autonomously and docks at one of the ports of entry, where it will stay until it returns to Earth.
SpaceX has developed the nearly $3 billion astronaut taxi from a NASA program called Commercial Crew. The point of the program was that private companies owned the spacecraft they built, and NASA was just one of the customers who bought many seats for astronauts.
The agency’s previous mode of transportation to the space station was by space shuttle. But the shuttle program was retired in 2011, requiring NASA to purchase expensive seats for its astronauts on the Russian Soyuz rocket for nearly a decade.
Having trouble with the toilet on the way home?
The toilet in the Crew Dragon capsule will remain offline for the duration of the trip. If astronauts have to go, they will need to hold it or use astronaut grade diapers built into their flight suits.
“Of course that’s insufficient, but we’re ready to manage that when we’re on our way home in Dragon,” Crew-2 mission pilot Megan McArthur said at a news conference Friday. Said.
SpaceX vice president Bill Gerstenmaier said he discussed toilet issues at a press conference in October. The same problem, which did not cause any problems in the cabin of the crew, was also detected in the capsule Endeavour, in which the Crew-2 flew.
Although it has been determined that the problem does not pose any safety risks to the operation of the spacecraft, the toilet leak in the Crew-2 capsule continues, meaning that astronauts in orbit, heeding nature’s call, must wear “underwear” in their flight suits, Commercial Crew program manager Steve Stich, 31 He told reporters in October.
When will more astronauts launch into the space station?
The return timing of the Crew-2 astronauts has changed several times over the past week as NASA officials play with an ever-changing set of factors. The crew was originally scheduled to leave last Wednesday or Thursday, days after NASA and SpaceX’s next astronaut mission, Crew-3, arrived at the space station. This would provide a clean transition between the two crews on the space station. However, Crew-3 was delayed for Halloween due to bad weather.
Then a second schedule delay emerged: NASA said in a blog post that one in four Crew-3 astronauts had “a minor medical issue.” When bad weather prevented the next launch date again, NASA decided to bring the Crew-2 astronauts home first and send the Crew-3 astronauts into orbit on Wednesday, November 10.
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