SpaceX Dragon CRS-9 cargo ship departs from ISS in space

Florida,August 26:The SpaceX Dragon CRS-9 cargo spacecraft is due to leave the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, August 26.The SpaceX rocket Dragon cargo spacecraft was launched to the ISS on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 18.

The cargo ship delivered scientific research equipment with some 5,000 lbs (2,270 kg) of critical payload and was carrying an International Docking Adapter (IDA), which will be used to convert a former Space Shuttle docking port for use by future US manned vehicles.

While Dragon was beginning her pursuit of the ISS, the first stage was completing the second successful landing on the LZ-1 pad back at the Cape.

A few days later, Dragon entered the Station’s back yard and prepared to be caught by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS).

ISS Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineer Dr. Kate Rubins – working in the Robotic Work Station (RWS) in the Cupola lab – extended the “big arm” toward Dragon’s grapple fixture, before carefully translating the cargo-laden craft into Node-2 Harmony’s nadir port.

With the hatch opened later that day, the ISS crew began removing the array of supplies – totaling of 1,790 kg (3,946 lb) – inside the Dragon’s pressurized section.

In Dragon’s trunk section was a key payload that will help her big sister –Dragon 2 – dock with the ISS when the United States regains its domestic crew launch capability via theCommercial Crew Program (CCP) missions.

The International Docking Adapter (IDA) is a piece of hardware designed to convert the US Segment’s old Shuttle-era docking ports to a new docking system, thus allowing them to accept the upcoming commercial crew vehicles which will all use the updated docking system design.

The CRS-9 Dragon provided the ride uphill for IDA-2, allowing it to be removed from her trunk and installed during a robotics operation and via EVA-36 – conducted by Williams and Rubins.

To kick off the homecoming, the long sequence of events – that will ultimately lead to Dragon safely bobbing the Pacific Ocean – began on Thursday with the unberthing of Dragon from the Node 2 Nadir CBM, via the release of 16 bolts around the CBM berthing collar on the ISS side, performed in four sets of four bolts to ensure even unloading on the CBM interface.

Dragon was then pulled away from the ISS via the use of the SSRMS.

Dragon was manouvered to the release position approximately 30 feet below the ISS. She was left in this position for the night – known as the parking position.

Friday’s ops will begin with Dragon in the release position, ahead of the time for Dragon and the ISS to part ways.

Rubins, aided by Takuya Onishi of JAXA, will squeeze the trigger on the Rotational Hand Controller (RHC) on the RWS to release the snares holding the SSRMS Latching End Effector (LEE) to the Dragon Flight Releasable Grapple Fixture (FRGF) – effectively “letting go” of Dragon.

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