Cargo Dragon docks at ISS, delivers supplies to Expedition 74

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo spacecraft docked with the International Space Station at 6:37 a.m. EDT on Sunday, NASA said, delivering nearly 6,500 pounds of science experiments, food, supplies and equipment for the Expedition 74 crew. The arrival marked SpaceX’s 34th commercial resupply services mission to the station for NASA. The uncrewed spacecraft launched at 6:05 p.m. EDT on May 15 aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA said Dragon docked to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module after an autonomous approach. ### How much cargo reached the station? NASA said Dragon carried nearly 6,500 pounds of cargo for the seven-member Expedition 74 crew. The shipment included food, crew supplies and station equipment alongside research payloads headed for use aboard the orbital laboratory. The mission page for NASA’s SpaceX CRS-34 described the flight as part of the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services program, which uses private U.S. companies to deliver cargo and scientific experiments to the station. (nasa.gov) SpaceX identified the mission as CRS-34 and said the Dragon capsule flying it had previously supported CRS-22, CRS-24, CRS-27, CRS-30 and CRS-32. ### Which experiments did NASA single out on this flight? (nasa.gov) NASA said one experiment, called ODYSSEY, will test how well Earth-based microgravity simulators reproduce conditions seen in space by comparing bacterial behavior in orbit with simulator results on Earth. Another payload, Green Bone, will study how bone cells grow on a wood-based scaffold that researchers say could inform work on fragile bone conditions such as osteoporosis. (nasa.gov) NASA said a third investigation, SPARK, will examine how red blood cells and the spleen change in space using human samples and imagery collected before, during and after spaceflight. The agency also said Dragon carried STORIE, an instrument to monitor charged particles around Earth that can affect satellites and power grids, as well as Laplace, a study of dust-particle motion in microgravity, and an instrument designed to measure sunlight reflected by Earth and the Moon with high accuracy. (nasa.gov) ### Where did the flight start, and when? NASA said the mission lifted off at 6:05 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 15, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The agency had said before launch that Dragon was expected to reach the station after roughly a day and a half in orbit and dock at about 7 a.m. on Sunday, May 17. (nasa.gov) SpaceX’s mission page said the flight used a Falcon 9 rocket and described the trip as an approximately 38-hour transit to the station. The company also said the Dragon capsule on CRS-34 was making its sixth flight. ### What happens now that Dragon is attached? NASA said Dragon docked to the forward port of Harmony, one of the station’s U.S. modules, and will now be unloaded by the Expedition 74 crew. (nasa.gov) SpaceX’s mission description said docking is followed by vestibule pressurization, hatch opening and crew ingress. (spacex.com) NASA said the spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the station until mid-June. At that point, Dragon is expected to depart the orbiting laboratory carrying time-sensitive research and cargo and then splash down off the coast of California. (nasa.gov 1) (nasa.gov 2)