SpaceX Dragon Docks with ISS
It has been a while in the making, but the the SpaceX Dragon capsule has docked with the International Space Station and the beginning of a new era is upon us. Private enterprise is now making deliveries into space.
At 6:56AM on 25 May 2012 the International Space Station grapple attached itself to the SpaceX Dragon craft preparing to dock. This has been a long time in the making and my congratulations go to the team at SpaceX for having made this possible. Designing systems for space is a lot harder than for terrestrial environments and in particular, the increased radiation means you have make sure Electronics Designs are able to handle that and protect themselves from inadvertent state changes as high energy particles penetrate the shielding and deliver directly to tracks, gates and junctions. Aerospace Engineering is just that bit tougher in these environments.
The full story can be read at ISS Welcomes SpaceX Dragon along with a good collection of pictures and a detailed description of the entire process.
Docking was completed at 8:52AM.
Successful Endeavours specialise in Electronics Design and Embedded Software Development. Ray Keefe has developed market leading electronics products in Australia for nearly 30 years. This post is Copyright © 2012 Successful Endeavours Pty Ltd