apa Redaksi: artikel berikut dikutip seutuhnya dari Majalah

Forbes berdasarkan tulisan dari contributor Valerie Stimac. Isi

tulisan ini menggambarkan sisi lain yang dapat diperoleh dari

peluncuran pesawat ruang angkasa SpaceX Crew Dragon,

yang selama ini didominasi oleh berbagai teknologi modern

ruang angkasa. Memang peluncuran SpaceX Crew Dragon ini

menjadi momentum bersejarah negeri Paman Sam, mengingat merupakan

peluncuran astronot NASA dari daratan Amerika kembali yang pertama

kali sejak diakhiri 2011 silam, sehingga banyak diulas oleh media di dunia.

Selain itu, peluncuran ini juga menjadi tonggak sejarah dunia lainnya,

ketika seluruh proses peluncurannya dilakukan dengan berbasis komersial

oleh perusahaan swasta dengan biaya rendah, sehingga menjadi yang

pertama di dunia, di samping ada beberapa hal baru lainnya yang

ditawarkan oleh SpaceX. Sebagaimana kita ketahui bahwa misi yang

disebut Demo-2 yang meluncurkan pesawat ruang angkasa SpaceX Crew

Dragon telah berhasil diluncurkan ke ISS pada Sabtu 30/5/2020 pada jam

03.22 pm EDT (Minggu subuh 31/5/2020 jam 02.22 WIB). Pesawat ruang

angkasa Crew Dragon yang membawa 2 astronot NASA Doug Hurley dan

Bob Behnken terbang selama 19 jam untuk mencapai ISS, sebelum

melakukan proses docking.

Penerbangan itu sepenuhnya dikendalikan secara autonomous (tanpa

kendali kedua astronot), sejak mulai dari pemisahan dengan LAS, sampai

kembali lagi nanti ke Bumi. Bila tidak terjadi masalah, maka Crew Dragon

di saat docking di Harmony Module, ISS juga dilakukan secara autonomous

(dikendalikan oleh sistem komputer yang dipasang di Module itu sendiri).

Apabila terjadi gangguan, maka kedua astronot itu akan mengambil alih

kendali spacecraft untuk dikendalikan secara manual. Walaupun demikian,

kedua astronot itu telah melakukan 2 kali percobaan kendali (test flight)

secara manual setelah peluncuran, di saat pesawat ruang angkasa Crew

Dragon di posisi masih jauh (far-field test) dan dekat (near-field test) dari

ISS, dengan hasil sukses.

Docking telah sukses pada hari Minggu 31/5/2020 jam 10.16 am ET (14.16

UTC = 21.16 WIB). Sesampainya di ISS, setelah hatch opening mereka

disambut big hug oleh Cassidy, Ivanishin dan Vagner. Hurley dan Behnken

kemudian memberi nama kapsul Crew Dragon yang ditumpanginya sebagai

Endeavour, untuk mengenang space shuttle yang pernah diterbangkan

keduanya ke ISS tahun 2011 silam. Lamanya waktu tinggal kedua astronot

di ISS tidak diketahui, namun dinyatakan oleh NASA bahwa mereka akan

tinggal di ISS, 1 atau 3 bulan dan paling lama 110 hari, mengingat

keterbatasan kemampuan solar power Crew Dragon. Mereka akan tinggal

bersama ke-3 koleganya yang sudah berada di sana Cassidy, Vanishin dan

Vagner, dan kembali ke Bumi mempergunakan Crew Dragon yang sama

yang sudah berganti nama menjadi Endevour.

Selama 19 jam perjalanannya itu, kedua astronot akan melewati beberapa

bagian permukaan Bumi yang dapat dilihat dengan kasat mata seperti yang

ditulis oleh Valerie Stimac berikut ini. Tempat di Bumi itu berupa beberapa

kota, danau dan negara. Gambaran itu memang bukan seperti yang dilihat

oleh kedua astronot ini, namun mereka sebenarnya akan dapat melihatnya

seperti terlihat dalam gambar itu di sepanjang penerbangannya, mengingat

jalur permukaan yang dilewatinya sama seperti dilakukan oleh ISS.

Tulisan inipun menginformasikan jalur permukaan Bumi yang dilintasi oleh

pesawat ruang angkasa Crew Dragon sepanjang penerbangannya menuju

ke ISS. Mengingat lamanya perjalanan pesawat ruang angkasa adalah 19

jam, maka kedua astronot inipun memiliki waktu tidurnya secara

bergantian. Selain waktu tidur, kedua astronot inipun melakukan orbit

sebanyak 12,6 x (1 x mengorbit Bumi adalah 90 menit). Dengan orbit

sebanyak itu maka ada beberapa lokasi di Bumi yang dilewati sebanyak-

banyaknya 12 x oleh Crew Dragon. Bagaimana astronot melihat Turki yang

terdiri dari Turki Eropa dan Turki Asia?, inilah tulisan selengkapnya.

Sebagai penutup, kami menambahkan gambar Pulau Jawa di saat malam

hari dilihat dari ISS. Selamat membaca.

On Their 19-Hour Journey To The

ISS, Here’s What Crew Dragon

Astronauts Can See On Earth Valerie Stimac Contributor for Forbes

Kennedy Space Center as viewed from above. NASA Earth Observatory

images.

This morning, American astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken

were successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center aboard a Crew

Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. After the first thrilling minutes of their

flight, they began a 19-hour mission to go from launch to docking with the

International Space Station (ISS) – it’s the first time humans have ridden to

the ISS aboard a Crew Dragon capsule, and takes them on an epic series of

orbital journeys over the earth.

Using their orbital paths as a guide, here are some of the views Hurley and

Behnken can see of earth during their duo journey to the ISS. These are

photos from NASA, often from ISS astronauts on past missions, and give you

a sense of how incredible the view is from up there.

Paris, France

Paris at night, as viewed from the ISS. Astronaut photograph ISS043-E-

93480 IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

After launching from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Crew Dragon crossed

the Atlantic,and skimmed the southern coasts of Ireland and Great Britain.

The spacecraft then passed over western Europe, including almost directly

over Paris, France. By this point, Crew Dragon was moving towards the night

side of the earth, and Paris would soon have been lit up like in this photo.

Istanbul

Istanbul and the Bosphorus as viewed from the ISS. Astronaut photograph

ISS008-E-21752

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

After crossing continental Europe, Crew Dragon passed almost directly over

Istanbul, Turkey. This photo – taken during the daytime by another

astronaut aboard the International Space Station – shows Istanbul on both

sides of the Bosphorus Strait and a beautiful mosaic of blue water, green

countryside, and dusty red of the rooftops of Istanbul.

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut viewed from aboard the ISS. Astronaut photograph ISS016-E-8436

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Next, Hurley and Behnken continued their supersonic city-hopping tour

with a quick pass over Beirut, Lebanon. This view was taken by a fellow

astronaut on a previous mission, and shows the city along the eastern coast

of the Mediterranean.

Los Cabos, Mexico

Los Cabos at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Astronaut

photograph ISS012-E-7151

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

After passing over the Middle East, Crew Dragon then continued its orbit

across the Indian Ocean, scooping under Australia and New Zealand, and

then passing over the Pacific Ocean. The first major land Behnken and

Hurley could have seen after that is the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja

peninsula. In this photo, you can see the cities of Cabo San Lucas and San

José del Cabo from a similar perspective as from Crew Dragon.

Southern Lake Michigan

Southern Lake Michigan as viewed from the ISS. Astronaut photograph

ISS006-E-29393

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Passing over the Midwestern USA, Crew Dragon hurdled northeast toward

the Great Lakes. Just south of Lake Michigan, Hurley and Behnken could

have enjoyed this view which includes Chicago – though not any of the ice

and snow in this photo taken by another astronaut aboard the ISS in 2003.

Newfoundland, Canada

Satellite imagery of Newfoundland. Image courtesy the SeaWiFS Project,

NASA GSFC, and ORBIMAGE.

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Next Crew Dragon passed up over Canada, and skimmed across

Newfoundland from an altitude of over 200 kilometers. Behnken and Hurley

would likely have enjoyed beautiful views of Newfoundland before crossing

back over the Atlantic Ocean.

The Pyrenees

A colorized thermal image of the Pyrenees. NASA image created by Jesse

Allen, Earth Observatory.

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

As Crew Dragon crosses Europe again, this time over the Pyrenees, Andorra,

and the Spain-France border. While this photo is colorized to show thermal

conditions in the Pyrenees, Hurley and Behnken could have looked down at

this mountainous region before crossing the Mediterranean.

Khartoum, Sudan

Khartoum as viewed from the ISS. Astronaut photograph ISS010-E-23451

was acquired April 7, 2005.

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

On their second orbital path around the earth, Behnken and Hurley passed

over Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan. This pass took them almost directly over

Khartoum, Sudan’s Capital City. In this photo, taken from the ISS, you can

see sprawling Khartoum, and the White Nile (in the lower left) and the Blue

Nile rivers.

Salt Lake City

Salt Lake and the Bonneville Salt Flats as viewed from the ISS. Astronaut

photograph ISS053-E-134166.

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Once it passed over the rest of the African continent, Crew Dragon again

passed over several oceans – the south Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.

Their path took them back across North America, over Los Angeles and the

Great Salt Lake. The photo above shows what Hurley and Behnken’s view

might have been, looking out the windows – you can see part of the ISS solar

array in the right part of the photo.

Morocco

The Coast of Morocco and the Atlas Mountains. NASA image by Robert

Simmon.

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE EARTH SCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING UNIT, NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

While astronauts Hurley and Behnken will continue orbiting for the rest of

the day, overnight, and into tomorrow, they’ll soon turn in for the night to

start adjusting their sleep schedule for the ISS. One last view they might see

is of the coast of Morocco and the Atlas mountains, similar to this one.

Inilah Pulau Jawa di waktu malam hari dilihat dari ISS