SpaceX Launches Dragon Cargo Spacecraft to Space Station

SpaceX Launches 22nd Resupply Mission to the International Space Station

The Dragon capsule, operated by SpaceX, is currently en route to the International Space Station (ISS).

This launch marks the 22nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission undertaken for NASA, having commenced on Thursday. According to Sarah Walker, SpaceX’s director of Dragon mission management, this represents the fifth Dragon capsule dispatched to the ISS within the past year, as highlighted during a media briefing held on Tuesday.

Falcon 9 Booster and Launch Details

Notably, this mission utilized a new Falcon 9 rocket booster for its ascent.

Liftoff occurred from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 1:29 PM eastern time, adhering to the scheduled timeline despite potential weather challenges posed by approaching storm systems. The initial stage of the rocket separated successfully and achieved a controlled landing on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship situated in the Atlantic Ocean approximately eight minutes post-launch.

Subsequent to this, the second stage, responsible for propelling the capsule into orbit, detached twelve minutes after launch, also in accordance with the planned sequence.

Image Credits: SpaceX

Cargo and Research Experiments

The Falcon 9 launch vehicle is transporting over 7,300 pounds of essential research materials, supplies, and hardware to the ISS crew. This includes the delivery of new solar arrays.

This mission constitutes the second under SpaceX’s renewed CRS contract with NASA, following the initial launch in December of the previous year.

Among the cargo, the Dragon capsule carries a diverse range of research experiments. These encompass studies on oral bacteria and their response to Colgate toothpaste, investigations involving tardigrades (often called water bears) to assess their survival and reproduction in space, and research into the impact of microgravity on kidney stone formation – a condition to which astronauts often exhibit increased vulnerability during spaceflight.

In addition to scientific equipment, the capsule is also delivering a supply of fresh food items, including apples, navel oranges, lemons, and avocados.

New Solar Array Technology

Approximately 3,000 pounds of the total cargo weight is allocated to a novel roll-out, “flex blanket” solar array developed by Redwire, a space infrastructure company.

Matt LaPointe, Redwire’s technical director, explained to TechCrunch that this flex blanket technology offers advantages in both mass and performance compared to conventional rigid paneled solar arrays.

The arrays were housed within the Dragon’s unpressurized trunk. This is the first of three planned missions to deliver iROSA solar arrays to the station, with each mission transporting two arrays, as stated by LaPointe. Upon installation, the complete set of six iROSA arrays is projected to generate over 120KW of power.

Redwire, which recently announced plans to become a publicly traded company through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, anticipates that the new iROSA arrays will enhance the ISS’s power generation capacity by 20-30%.

Arrival and Return

The Dragon capsule is anticipated to reach the space station around 5 AM on June 5, autonomously docking at a port on the Harmony module.

It will remain docked with the station for over a month before returning to Earth, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean with completed research and other return cargo.