SpaceX Dragon capsule begins its final orbit before reentry
The SpaceX Dragon capsule started its final orbit around the Earth at 12:51 p.m. Eastern time, before beginning its descent to Earth.
About an hour after that final orbit begins, SpaceX flight engineers will give the final “go” order for the capsule’s return, carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Fla.
The Endeavour capsule will jettison its trunk, an annex that contains thermal control, power and avionics system components, at approximately 1:51 p.m., then fire its engines for a nine-minute “de-orbit burn” that will catapult the spacecraft out of orbit and through Earth’s atmosphere.
SpaceX flight engineers gave a provisional “go” order for that burn shortly after the final orbit sequence began. Engineers, though, can still “wave off” the landing attempt at any time before the “de-orbit burn” if conditions change. The Endeavour has three days’ worth of “consumables” — food, water and oxygen — on board if the crew needs to postpone reentry.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/08/02/spacex-return-updates/
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Crossing my fingers.
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