alt Hacker NewsMy suspicion was they were burning excess propellant, rather than attitude adjustment while under the parachutes. Though who knows how much propellant remained. It could be quite a bit more than it appears was used.
Replies
hydrogen7800 • yesterday at 3:19 AM
In the post splashdown conference, they mentioned that these were indeed attitude control bursts to orient for favorable orientation for water impact.
_moof • yesterday at 4:32 AM
It was for attitude adjustment.
Not just excess - excess and toxic. Hydrazine derivatives and nitrogen tetroxide, IIRC. They are hypergolic, too, so the easiest way to vent them is just to run the engines until empty. However, to prevent moving the craft too much, you do short bursts.