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The Dragon has wings!They made orbit. Solar array deployed.
So, how much should the astronauts give as a tip for a 500kg delivery to the ISS?
(hey...where's the applause emoticon?)
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012
2120 GMT (5:20 p.m. EDT)
Dragon's commanded abort demonstrations, employing full burns and pulsed firings of its Draco thrusters, were completed earlier today. The craft also demonstrated its free drift mode, in which Dragon's attitude control thrusters are switched off.
NASA and SpaceX are reviewing data from the demos.
The abort and free drift functions are required for Dragon's approach to the space station. An abort may be necessary if problems develop during the final phase of rendezvous, and Dragon must go to free drift mode before being grappled by the station's robot arm.
SpaceX has thus far reported no significant issues with the spacecraft on its first day in orbit. More burns are on tap overnight and tomorrow to fine-tune its high-speed pursuit of the space station.
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2012
1151 GMT (7:51 a.m. EDT)
Dragon's laser ranging instrument, called a LIDAR system, and the capsule's thermal imager appear to working as expected, but the big test won't come until Friday's final rendezvous with the International Space Station. The sensors will then be called upon to feed precise range and relative velocity data to Dragon's flight computer and guidance system.