With the successful undocking of the Dragon spacecraft from the International Space Station (ISS), the Emirati astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi and his six crewmates have started their journey back to Earth on Sunday.
The spacecraft is projected to touchdown off the coast of Tampa, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow, Monday morning, UAE News Agency (WAM) quoted Director-General of Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) Salem Humaid Al-Marri as saying.
The undocking is a historic moment as Al-Neyadi’s six-month mission is the longest one in the history of the Arab world, Al-Marri noted in a virtual news conference.
One of the MBRSC’s teams will focus on the safety of the astronauts and their medical rehabilitation to return to normality, which will take a few weeks, he pointed out. Another team will focus on the scientific experiments, while the administrative team will focus on the nature of the mission, administrative and organizational matters, as well as handling discussions with various parties, Al-Marri went on.
Following the undocking, if necessary, a series of orbit-lowering maneuvers, known as phasing burns, will be executed on the spacecraft to align its ground track with the targeted landing location.
Before initiating the deorbit burn, the flight computer will jettison the spacecraft’s trunk, a step crucial for reducing its mass and conserving propellant. This will pave the way for the spacecraft’s deorbit burn, scheduled to last for 12 minutes.
Upon completion, as the spacecraft re-enters Earth’s atmosphere, it will encounter significant heating and drag, effectively reducing its velocity to a safe point suitable for parachute deployment.
At an altitude of 18,000 feet, two drogue parachutes will be deployed, quickly followed by the release of four main parachutes at approximately 6,500 feet.
The UAE Astronaut Program is one of the projects managed by MBRSC under the UAE’s National Space Program and funded by the ICT Fund of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), which aims to support research and development in the ICT sector in the UAE and promote the country’s integration on the global stage.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
