SpaceX Cargo Dragon C209 reaches ISS

SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon arrived at the International Space Station on Sunday, May 17, after a Friday launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA said the mission is the 34th commercial resupply flight that SpaceX has flown for the agency, carrying nearly 6,500 pounds of science, crew supplies and hardware to the orbital laboratory. The spacecraft lifted off at 6:05 p.m. EDT on May 15 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40. NASA said the vehicle was scheduled to dock at about 7 a.m. EDT Sunday at the forward port of the station’s Harmony module. ### Which mission is this, and what spacecraft flew it? NASA identified the flight as CRS-34, the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the station under the company’s cargo contract with the agency. The spacecraft on the mission is Cargo Dragon C209, according to SpaceX and other mission listings, and SpaceX said this was the capsule’s sixth flight supporting station cargo runs. (nasa.gov) SpaceX said the Falcon 9 first-stage booster flying the mission was also making its sixth trip to space. Spectrum News, citing SpaceX mission details, said the booster landed at Landing Zone 40 after stage separation, close to the launch site in Florida. ### What is inside the 6,500-pound cargo load? NASA said the Dragon spacecraft is carrying experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science, Earth science and space science for the station’s Expedition 74 crew. (nasa.gov) The agency said the cargo includes a project testing how closely Earth-based simulators reproduce microgravity, a wood-based bone scaffold experiment aimed at treatments for fragile bone conditions such as osteoporosis, and equipment to study how red blood cells and the spleen change in space. (spacex.com) NASA also said Dragon is delivering an instrument to study charged particles around Earth that can affect power grids and satellites. On the CRS-34 mission page, the agency named that payload STORIE — short for Storm Time O+ Ring current Imaging Evolution — and said it is designed to provide an inside-out view of Earth’s ring current. (nasa.gov) ### Why is NASA putting a space-weather instrument on a cargo mission? NASA said STORIE is meant to study charged particles around Earth, a region that can affect satellites and electric grids. The agency described the instrument as part of a mission to observe the ring current, a band of energetic particles trapped by Earth’s magnetic field. (nasa.gov) The payload’s inclusion on a routine cargo flight shows how station resupply missions also serve as delivery runs for research hardware that will stay in orbit. NASA said the station has hosted continuous human presence for more than 25 years and is used for biology, physical science, and Earth and space science investigations that are not possible on Earth. (nasa.gov) ### Did the launch happen on the first try? May 15 was the third launch attempt for CRS-34. Spectrum News reported that NASA and SpaceX had scrubbed attempts earlier in the week because of poor weather at the Florida launch site before flying on Friday evening. NASA’s launch release confirmed the final liftoff time at 6:05 p.m. EDT on Friday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (nasa.gov) SpaceX’s mission page still showed earlier target dates and docking timing, reflecting prelaunch planning before the final schedule settled after the delays. ### What happens now that Dragon is at the station? (mynews13.com) NASA said the spacecraft is headed to the forward port of the Harmony module, where the Expedition 74 crew will begin unloading supplies and experiment hardware after docking procedures, vestibule pressurization and hatch opening. SpaceX’s mission description says those steps follow Dragon’s autonomous final approach to the station. (nasa.gov) Mid-June is the next dated milestone NASA has provided for the mission. The agency said Dragon is scheduled to remain at the station until then before departing with time-sensitive research and cargo and splashing down off the coast of California. (nasa.gov)