A little while ago, the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its CRS-32 (Cargo Resupply Service 32) mission, also referred to as SPX-32. After almost 10 minutes, it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 32nd mission for the Dragon/Dragon 2 spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station with various cargoes and then return to Earth, again with various cargoes.
The Dragon 2 spacecraft’s cargo is a little more than 3,000 kg (more than 6,600 lbs) between the pressurized and the non-pressurized section. There are about 1,468 kg (almost 3,240 lbs) of food and other supplies for the International Space Station crew but most of the cargo consists of instruments, hardware, and various other materials needed to science experiments and research conducted aboard the Station.
Among the technologies to be tested on the International Space Station is the Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor-2 (SVGS-2), a system that controls the Station’s robots to move them in formation. It’s a system that can also be used for satellites and can be applied to operations where it’s necessary to guide robots or some type of spacecraft remotely. It’s a type of technology that can be developed for applications in outposts on the Moon, on Mars, or in other space outposts.
Technologies with medical applications are always important parts of the payloads carried to the International Space Station. The Industrial Crystallization Cassette (ADSEP-ICC) investigation extends an existing protein crystallization system to increase the types it can process, including gold particles used in the diagnosis of certain diseases such as forms of cancer. The microgravity on the Station allows the production of more uniform gold particles that ensure greater efficacy in these medical applications.
DNA Nano Therapeutics-Mission 2 is an experiment that is part of a program to produce nanomaterials inspired by DNA. The aim is to produce better drugs and materials that can reduce joint inflammation and help regenerate cartilage lost due to arthritis. This is another case where microgravity helps produce higher-quality materials that are more stable and compatible with biological tissues than existing ones.
Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) is an ESA instrument based on the use of atomic clocks to be employed in microgravity for physics-related research, including tests connected to the theory of relativity and other experiments, as well as astrophysics.
This Dragon 2 cargo spacecraft is on its fifth mission. Its arrival at the station is scheduled for tomorrow: around 12.30 UTC, it will dock with the Station using an automated manoeuver.
