Dragon Returns to Earth

SpaceX's Dragon capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 11:42 a.m. EDT a few hundred miles west of Baja California, Mexico, marking a successful end to the first mission by a commercial company to resupply the International Space Station.

Dragon Capsule Performs Deorbit Burn

The SpaceX Dragon capsule initiated its 9-minute, 50-second deorbit burn at 10:51 a.m. EDT to decelerate the spacecraft and begin its return to Earth. NASA TV will provide live commentary and coverage of the capsule's reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, scheduled for 11:44 a.m.: www.nasa.gov/ntv. A news briefing will be held jointly from Johnson and SpaceX in Hawthorne, Calif., at 2 p.m. live on NASA TV.

Dragon Descending

The SpaceX Dragon was released from the International Space Station’s robotic arm at 5:49 a.m. EDT. The capsule will do departure burns and maneuvers to move beyond the 656-foot (200-meter) “keep out sphere” around the station and begin its return trip to Earth. NASA TV coverage will resume at 10:15 a.m. to follow the capsule’s deorbit and splashdown. The capsule is scheduled to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 11:44 a.m., hundreds of miles west of Baja California. A news briefing will be held jointly from Johnson and SpaceX in Hawthorne, Calif., at 2 p.m. live on NASA TV

Venus Transit 2012:

Contact 1 : 6:09:38am

Contact 2 : 6:27:34am
Greatest : 9:29:36am
Contact 3 : 12:31:39pm
Contact 4 : 12:49:35pm

Dragon Capsule Released from Station

The SpaceX Dragon capsule was released from the International Space Station’s robotic arm by crew members of Expedition 31 at 5:49 a.m. EDT. The capsule now will begin a series of departure burns and maneuvers to move beyond the 656-foot (200-meter) “keep out sphere” around the station and begin its return trip to Earth. NASA TV coverage will resume at 10:15 a.m. to follow the capsule’s deorbit and splashdown. The capsule is currently scheduled to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 11:44 a.m., hundreds of miles west of Baja California. A news briefing will be held jointly from Johnson and SpaceX in Hawthorne, Calif., at 2 p.m. live on NASA TV.

Dragon to Depart Station Thursday

The Expedition 31 crew of the International Space Station spent much of the day Tuesday working with the SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle, reviewing procedures for the departure of the first commercial spacecraft to visit the station and packing it with items for return to Earth.

Dragon, which delivered 1,014 pounds of non-critical cargo on its demonstration flight to the station, was cleared unanimously Tuesday by the station’s Mission Management Team for unberthing early Thursday. In reverse order of how Dragon was captured and berthed Friday, the crew will use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to detach the vehicle from the Earth-facing port of the station’s Harmony node at 4:05 a.m., move it away from the station and release it at 5:35 a.m. for return to Earth. The SpaceX team in Hawthorne, Calif., will run Dragon through about five hours of orbital operations before commanding it to a splashdown for recovery off the California coast.

Partial Lunar Eclipse of 4 June 2012 (Malaysia):

Penumbra begin : 4:48:09pm
Partial begin : 5:59:53pm
Greatest : 7:03:13pm
Partial end : 8:06:30pm
Penumbra end : 9:18:17pm

Enjoy this eclipse very much.....

Dragon's Hatches Opened By Station Crew

The hatch between the newly arrived SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the Harmony module of the International Space Station was opened by NASA Astronaut Don Pettit at 5:53 am EDT as the station flew 253 miles above Auckland, New Zealand. The hatch opening begins four days of operations to upload more than 1,000 pounds of cargo from the first commercial spacecraft to visit the space station and reload it with experiments and cargo for a return trip to Earth. It is scheduled for splashdown several hundred miles west of California on May 31.

Wearing protective masks and goggles, as is customary for the opening of a hatch to any newly arrived vehicle at the station, Pettit entered the Dragon with Station Commander Oleg Kononenko. The goggles and masks will be removed once the station atmosphere has had a chance to mix air with the air inside the Dragon itself.

Dragon's Hatches Opened; News Conference Set for 11:25 a.m. EDT

The hatch between the newly arrived SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the Harmony module of the International Space Station was opened by NASA Astronaut Don Pettit at 5:53 am EDT as the station flew 253 miles above Auckland, New Zealand. The hatch opening begins four days of operations to upload more than 1,000 pounds of cargo from the first commercial spacecraft to visit the space station and reload it with experiments and cargo for a return trip to Earth. It is scheduled for splashdown several hundred miles west of California on May 31.

Wearing protective masks and goggles, as is customary for the opening of a hatch to any newly arrived vehicle at the station, Pettit entered the Dragon with Station Commander Oleg Kononenko. The goggles and masks will be removed once the station atmosphere has had a chance to mix air with the air inside the Dragon itself. A crew news conference will air on NASA TV at 11:25 a.m.

Dragon Berthed to Space Station

The SpaceX Dragon capsule was securely bolted to the Harmony module of the International Space Station at 12:02 p.m. EDT. A mission status briefing is scheduled for 1 p.m. to discuss the day's events, which will air on NASA TV (www.nasa.gov/ntv).

Dragon Being Postioned for Berthing

Following its capture, the SpaceX Dragon capsule is being positioned at the end of the International Space Station's robotic arm for installation onto the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module. European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit are at the robotic work station in the space station's cupola. NASA astronaut Joe Acaba is standing by to bolt the Dragon onto Harmony through commands he will issue from a laptop in the Destiny laboratory. Although the crew is running slightly ahead of schedule in the installation procedures, a specific time for berthing cannot be predicted. A mission status briefing is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT to discuss the day's activities.

Station Crew Captures Dragon

The International Space Station Expedition 31 crew successfully captured the SpaceX Dragon capsule with the station's robotic arm at 9:56 AM EDT. The feat came 3 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes and 23 seconds after the mission's launch. The station was 251 miles over northwest Australia when capture occurred.

ISS Crew Captured Dragon

SpaceX had confirmed the capture of Dragon spacecraft with the International Space Station with the robotic arm. SpaceX had also became the first private space company to launch and had a spacecraft captured with the International Space Station.

Dragon Given "Go" to Proceed Inside 30 Meters

The SpaceX Dragon capsule has arrived at the planned 30-meter hold point beneath the International Space Station. A "go" has been given to proceed inside 30 meters at approx. 9:32 a.m. EDT. The new scheduled grapple time is 10:02 a.m. The approach from 70 meters was delayed while SpaceX resolved an issue with the primary navigation sensors due to spurious reflections from the external pallet attached to the Japanese Kibo module.

Dragon Capture Time Updated

The projected capture time for the SpaceX Dragon capsule by the International Space Station is now 9:10 a.m. EDT."

Dragon Cleared to Enter Keep Out Sphere

The SpaceX Dragon mission continues to progress smoothly and the capsule has been cleared to enter 200-meter "keep out" sphere around International Space Station. It will hold at 150 meters for additional testing before moving to the next hold point at 30 meters.

Aquarius Legacy 2010

Aquarius, a name came from the meaning of water, and also one of the constellation in the sky, is now had became Dragon X's first reusable booster water rocket.

Aquarius had made her first maiden flight test on 17 June 2010. She had also went for 2 other missions, which had involved in the Descending and Recovery Chute test for Phantom X rocket on 21 August 2010 and 18 October 2010 respectively.

Today, Aquarius is now placing at the exhibition spot at Dragon X and awaiting for the planned next and the final mission for her (Aquarius M-41e).

Aquarius was planned to be move to SMJK Chung Cheng, 4Sc1 on this coming 11 June 2012 to 13 June 2012, for an exhibition to the public to view. Aquarius will be roll into SVAC for her final preparation before she was transfer to her exhibition spot.

Dragon Completes Approach and Initiation Burn

Dragon completed its Approach and Initiation burn at 4:18 a.m. EDT. Two more mid-course correction burns will be made fine-tuning Dragon's approach.

Expedition 31 is actively monitoring Dragon's approach and beginning robotics work inside the cupola.

Dragon Begins Trajectory to Re-Approach Station Friday

SpaceX completed a final height adjustment burn of the Dragon capsule at 8:09 a.m. EDT to depart the vicinity of the International Space Station. Dragon now begins its “racetrack” trajectory to re-approach the station for grapple and berthing attempts on Friday. A news briefing on today’s successful demonstration mission milestones will air live on NASA TV from the Johnson Space Center at 10 a.m.: www.nasa.gov/ntv"

SpaceX Dragon Capsule in Orbit

The SpaceX Dragon capsule is safely in orbit with its power-producing solar arrays deployed following a successful launch aboard the company's Falcon 9 rocket. Liftoff came on time at 3:44 a.m. EDT to set the cargo-carrying spacecraft on a course to rendezvous with the International Space Station. This mission is a test flight for the Dragon under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services contract known as COTS"

Aquarius Cross Tour 2012

Dragon X's first recovery rocket, Aquarius which made her maiden flight on 17 June 2010 will make her first cross tour.

Aquarius will make her cross tour 2012 to SMJK Chung Cheng, Kota Bharu on this coming 11 June to 13 June. Dragon X had confirmed that Aquarius will moved to SMJK Chung Cheng at 6am. She was set to be located at 4Sc1 for 3 days during the cross tour.

Dragon X Team, as stated: Cameron Tan (CEO & CTO), Hongz Teoh (Chief Director), Chester Cheng (General Manager), Tan Ying Ru, Chook Shun Kent, Sheh Chun Ming, will be in-charge during the cross tour.

Exhibition is open to all. Science fact and description included during the exhibition.

SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon Launch Scrubbed

Early data shows that the chamber pressure on Engine #5 was high. The teams will continue to look at the data and assess a launch attempt on May 22. The team is safing the Falcon 9 rocket now. Next chance to launch is Tuesday at 3:44 am EDT (0744 GMT).

Falcon 9 first stage Merlin Engine number 5 chamber pressure was high, causing the cutoff at almost T-zero. The Falcon has nine Merlin engines in the first stage. All nine engines must be up and running at full thrust before liftoff can occur. Since engine 5 had high chamber pressure, the computer cutoff the launch sequence and shut down the the engines

Green Nature Shot

Some nature shot of the insects species from Dragon X. A green nature is always the best to our eyes and the world. A beautiful scene is to share to all of you to enjoy the greatness of these creature.

Venus Transit 2012

We are counting down for this Venus Transit - and I have gotten questions about where will this astronomical event be visible. Well, here is a great map where you can see it on June 5 or June 6.

Here in the US it will be visible in the afternoon of June 5, while Europe and part of Asia will see it on June 6.

This is the map of Venus Transit 2012 event visibility. Malaysia will be able to enjoy the transition on 06 June 2012, during the sunrise. Dragon X will be the transit coverage team for all of you to enjoy.

Galaxy Sirius Delayed

Planning for a launch before Galaxy X1 Development Flight is the Galaxy Sirius X-e1, a vehicle designed to be launch by using Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and Sodium (Na). A reaction of CO2+H2O+CH3COONa will be formed to launch the vehicle from the launch pad.

Launch Complex 21 and Launch Pad 21 will be used for the launch. Dragon X's CEO, Cameron Tan stated that the launch date for Galaxy Sirius was reset to between the end of May and the beginning of June 2012.

More information will be updated as possible as there is some changes to the schedule.

Supermoon 2012

Another "supermoon" is in the offing. The perigee full moon on 5 May 2012 will be as much as 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012.

Question: What is the definition of a supermoon and why is it called that?

"Supermoon" is a situation when a moon is slightly closer to Earth in its orbit than an average, and this effect is most noticeable when it occurs at the same time as a full moon. So, the moon may seem bigger although the difference in its distance from Earth is only a few percent at such times.

It is called a supermoon because this is a very noticeable alignment that at first glance would seem to have an effect. The "super" in supermoon is really just the appearance of being closer, but unless we were measuring the Earth-Moon distance by laser rangefinders (as NASA do to track the LRO [Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter] spacecraft in low lunar orbit and to watch the Earth-Moon distance over years), there is really no difference. The supermoon really attests to the wonderful new wealth of data NASA's LRO mission has returned to the Moon, making several key science questions about our nearest neighbor all the more important.

Are there any adverse effects on Earth because of the close proximity of the Moon?

The effects on Earth from a supermoon are minor, and according to the most detailed studies by terrestrial seismologists and volcanologists, the combination of the moon being at its closest to Earth in its orbit, and being in its 'full moon' configuration (relative to the Earth and Sun), should not affect the internal energy balance of the Earth since there are lunar tides every day. The Earth has stored a tremendous amount of internal energy within its thin outer shell or crust, and the small differences in the tidal forces exerted by the moon (and sun) are not enough to fundamentally overcome the much larger forces within the planet due to convection (and other aspects of the internal energy balance that drives plate tectonics). Nonetheless, these supermoon times remind us of the effect of our "Africa-sized" nearest neighbor on our lives, affecting ocean tides and contributing to many cultural aspects of our lives (as a visible aspect of how our part of the solar system and space).