A little while ago, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ended its CRS-28 (Cargo Resupply Service 28) mission for NASA splashing down smoothly off the Florida Coast. The Dragon left the International Space Station about 22 hours earlier. For SpaceX, this was the 8th mission of the 2nd contract with NASA to transport supplies to the Station with the new version of the Dragon cargo spacecraft.
Shortly after the splashdown, SpaceX’s recovery ship went to retrieve the Dragon to transport it to the coast. The cargo brought back to Earth will be delivered to NASA within a few hours. The Dragon spacecraft reached the International Space Station on June 6, 2023.
The Dragon spacecraft brought back to Earth almost 1,600 kg (about 3,000 lbs) of mixed cargo that include various scientific experiments and biological samples. Part of the samples is contained in the freezers because they need to be kept at low temperatures. SpaceX is the only American company that has a spacecraft capable of bringing intact cargo back to Earth so the Dragon missions are really important for NASA. Samples produced during many of the experiments conducted on the International Space Station may require in-depth analyzes possible only in specialized laboratories on Earth.
Among the cargoes brought back to Earth is the GRIP – Dexterous Manipulation in Microgravity chair used in the ESA-sponsored GRIP and GRASP (Gravitational References for Sensimotor Performance: Reaching and Grasping) experiments. GRIP studies the effects of microgravity on object handling while GRASP offers insight into how the central nervous system adapts to a microgravity environment.
Medical and biological experiments are always among the most important on the International Space Station. In this case, the samples cover experiments such as BioNutrients-2, to test the production of key nutrients for the crew from yogurt and similar products; Monoclonal Antibodies PCG-2, to develop crystallization processes for various biotherapies; and Muscle Tone in Space (Myotones), to examine the biochemical properties of muscles during long-term exposure to the environment of a space mission.
The next resupply mission for the Dragon space cargo could begin in December 2023 but that’s a tentative schedule. The new version of this spacecraft is passing all the tests regarding its reuse and this is the first to finish its fourth mission. The Dragon 2 spacecraft fleet has now spent more time in orbit than the Space Shuttles. The two versions of the Dragon space freighters accomplished more missions to the International Space Station than the Space Shuttles.
