A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ended its CRS-32 (Cargo Resupply Service 32) mission for NASA splashing down smoothly off the coast of California. The Dragon left the International Space Station about 36 hours earlier. For SpaceX, this was the 12th mission of the 2nd contract with NASA to transport supplies to the Station with the new version of the Dragon cargo spacecraft. The Dragon spacecraft had reached the International Space Station on April 22.
Shortly after the splashdown, SpaceX’s “MV Megan” recovery ship went to retrieve the Dragon to transport it to the coast. After several missions completed in the Atlantic Ocean, it was decided to return to splashdowns in the Pacific. That’s because there were cases where the unpressurized section, which separates during descent into the atmosphere, had fallen onto land and posed a potential hazard. The descent into the Pacific allows the unpressurized section to disintegrate in the ocean. The cargo returned to Earth will be delivered to NASA within 48 hours.
The Dragon spacecraft brought back to Earth a number of payloads that include various scientific experiments and biological samples. Part of the samples are 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.
Experiments brought back to Earth on the Dragon cargo spacecraft include MISSE-20 (Multipurpose International Space Station Experiment), which exposed various materials to space to test their resistance to those conditions, the Astrobee-REACCH (Responsive Engaging Arms for Captive Care and Handling) robot, and the OPTICA (Onboard Programmable Technology for Image Compression and Analysis) technology test system.
The next Dragon cargo resupply mission could begin in August 2025, but that’s a tentative schedule. With the recent increase in missions that sometimes just make a quick stop at the International Space Station, the schedule of cargo spacecraft missions is more subject to change than ever.
