The SpaceX Dragon resupply ship carrying more than 5,800 pounds of new science experiments and crew supplies, pictured through a window on the SpaceX Dragon Freedom crew ship, approaches the International Space Station over the South Atlantic Ocean. Credit: NASA SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon cargo spacecraft touched down at 2:53 p.m. EDT (11:53 a.m. PDT) Saturday, Aug. 20, north of Cape Canaveral off Florida, marking the return of the company’s 25th conventional cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA. The spacecraft carried more than 4,000 pounds of valuable science experiments and other cargo back to Earth. Dragon was released from the forward port of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 11:05 a.m. on Friday, August 19, while the ISS was flying 259 miles above the Pacific Ocean. It arrived at the space station on July 16, after launching two days earlier on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This view of the International Space Station from a window in the Russian section of the orbital laboratory shows parts of the docking port of the Rassvet module, the US Destiny laboratory module, the Harmony module, the Columbus laboratory module and the Kibo laboratory module. Docked in Harmony at the top is the SpaceX Dragon resupply ship. Credit: NASA Some of the scientific research returned by Dragon includes:
The Impact of Space on Materials: The Materials International Space Station Experiment-15-NASA (MISSE-15-NASA) experiment tests, evaluates, and quantifies the impact of the low-Earth orbit environment on new materials and components, such as spacecraft materials and portable radiation protection devices. Successful experiment results could have applications both in the harsh environments of space and on Earth.
Spacesuit Cooling: The Spacesuit Evaporation Ejection Flight Experiment (SERFE) demonstrates a new technology that uses water evaporation to remove heat from spacesuits and maintain proper temperatures for crew members and equipment during spacewalks walks. The research determines whether microgravity affects performance and evaluates the technology’s effect on contamination and corrosion of spacesuit material.
Cell signaling in microgravity: ESA (European Space Agency) funded research Bioprint FirstAid Handheld Bioprinter (Bioprint FirstAid) enables the rapid use of previously prepared bio-inks, containing the patient’s own cells, to form a dressing pad in case of damage.
August 19, 2022: International Space Station configuration. Four spacecraft are docked at the space station, including the SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom and the Russian Soyuz MS-21 crew ship and Progress 80 and 81 resupply ships. Credit: NASA
