A SpaceX cargo capsule scattered in the Gulf of Mexico

As part of a 36-day mission to the International Space Station, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule plunged into the Gulf of Mexico on Friday evening with biomedical experiments, spacewalk equipment and other instruments returning from orbit.

The unmanned spacecraft parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico south of Tallahassee, Fla., At 11:29 p.m. EDT (03:29 GMT Saturday).

SpaceX confirmed the capsule’s fall in a tweet as recovery teams gathered aboard the Dragon spacecraft in the Gulf of Mexico. SpaceX’s “Go Navigator” rescue ship was at a station near the spray area to remove the capsule from the sea.

Once the Dragon capsule is on the rescue ship’s deck, teams will open the hatch and collect time-sensitive research samples to deliver them by helicopter to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where scientists will begin analyzing the experiments.

The rescue ship will return the capsule to Cape Canaveral for refurbishment and reuse in a future cargo mission.

The Cargo Dragon spacecraft descended from the space station at 10:45 a.m. EDT (2:45 p.m. GMT) Thursday, two days later than originally planned. Managers have ordered delays to wait for Tropical Storm Elsa to clear Florida.

The unmanned supply vessel has spent 33 days at the space station since docking on June 5, two days after launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission has been a round-trip SpaceX-22 cargo flight to the space station since 2012. NASA has contracts with SpaceX and Northrop Grumman to perform commercial resupply missions to the station.

On the trip to the space station, the Dragon capsule delivered more than 7,300 pounds (3,300 kilograms) of cargo, including experiments and improved solar panels. Astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Thomas Pesquet installed and deployed the graduated solar panels on three spacewalks last month.

After emptying the ship’s pressurized hold, station astronauts brought about 5,300 pounds (2,400 kilograms) of research and experimental samples and other equipment back to Earth, according to a NASA spokesperson. .

Experiments that returned to Earth included a pharmaceutical investigation by Eli Lilly and Company examining how gravity affects freeze-dried materials. On Earth, drugs freeze-dried for long-term storage produce layers with structural differences, and scientists want to know if samples freeze-dried in microgravity on the space station have a different structure.

The Dragon capsule also brought back an experiment to assess how gravity affects the structure, composition and activity of oral bacteria. The data could help design treatments to fight oral disease during long-duration space missions to the Moon and Mars, according to NASA.

The Dragon capsule was also loaded with spacewalk equipment, including a pistol grip tool, torque wrench, cooling clothing, water sampling kits, and space suit components, such as gloves, NASA spokeswoman Leah Cheshire said.

“I want to express my thanks to all the SpaceX and NASA teams, as well as to all the scientists, engineers and researchers who have equipment on this spacecraft,” Kimbrough said after the Dragon spacecraft left. the station on Thursday. “It was a great car. It kept us busy over the last month doing a bunch of great science.”

The Dragon spacecraft abandoned its section of disposable boxes at 10:41 p.m. EDT (0241 GMT Saturday). The unpressurized safe houses the solar panels that generate the ship’s energy.

The capsule then fired spurts from Draco at 10:45 p.m. EDT (02:45 GMT) to burn Diorbit for nine minutes to slow the craft enough to reenter the atmosphere.

After plunging into the atmosphere with a heat shield to protect itself from scorching temperatures, the Dragon capsule deployed its parachutes a few minutes before collapsing in the Gulf of Mexico.

This mission was SpaceX’s second refueling flight to use the upgraded Cargo Dragon spacecraft, based on the human-rated Dragon spacecraft design. The new version of the Dragon spacecraft is designed to be flown at least five times, compared to three missions in the previous setup.

It can also carry more payload than the first generation Dragon spacecraft.

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