WASHINGTON – A commercial cargo ship that arrived at the International Space Station on Oct. 10 is due to return to Earth on Sunday (Oct. 28), ending the first commercial resupply mission to the orbiting outpost.
NASA contractor Space Exploration Technologies Inc. (SpaceX, Hawthorne, Calif.) said space station crew members are expected to release the unmanned Dragon cargo ship about 6:25 a.m. PDT on Sunday. First they must use a robotic arm to detach Dragon from its docking port, then release the spacecraft a safe distance from the station.
A series of thruster burns will then move Dragon away from the station in preparation for a de-orbit burn. Prior to the burn, SpaceX controllers will jettison the spacecraft’s “trunk” and solar arrays in preparation for reentry.
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