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A cargo freighter SpaceX Dragon arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) today (May 6) to carry nearly 3 tons of NASA supplies to the laboratory in orbit.
The astronauts on board the station captured the unarmed Dragon cargo ship with a robotic arm at 07:01 EDT (11:01 GMT), the two spacecraft having traveled 50 km over the North Atlantic Ocean . The spacecraft carries about 5,500 pounds. (2,495 kilograms) of experiments and other supplies for the station's crew, Expedition 59, consisting of six people.
"We are hosting the ISS spacecraft Dragon as part of the SpaceX-17 cargo mission," said station-controlled radio astronaut David Saint-Jacques, capturing the robotic arm Canadarm2 built by the station.
Related: See the evolution of SpaceX rockets in images
"As a Canadian, I am proud every time we use Canadarm2 for free-flying capture," added Saint-Jacques. "My team and I are proud to be part of this team today, representing the dedicated teams of talented people who realize every day the impossible in themselves."
Later in the day, the flight controllers on Earth will remotely use the robotic arm of the station to attach Dragon to an open-air station in the station so that astronauts can start unloading supplies.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, May 6, 2019 to deliver 5,500 books. of supplies.
(Image: © NASA TV)
Spotted clouds and a shoreline form a spectacular backdrop for the arrival of SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship.
(Image: © NASA TV)
The SpaceX Dragon flies over a desert region of the Earth just before arriving at the International Space Station on May 6, 2019.
(Image: © NASA TV)
The SpaceX Dragon is seen in the dark in this night view of the International Space Station during rendezvous activities on May 6, 2019. The SpaceX dragons feature red and green lights.
(Image: © NASA TV)
The sunrise comes as the Earth's branch shines blue while the SpaceX Dragon is bathed in light. Astronauts from the space station waited until sunrise to better see the capture of the Dragon.
(Image: © NASA TV)
A breathtaking view of the Dragon and Earth clouds painted in different colors by an orbital sunrise.
(Image: © NASA TV)
This close-up of the cargo SpaceX-17 Dragon shows his lineage. The emblem of the International Space Station, visible just under the "P" of the SpaceX logo, indicates that it has already landed at the station during the SpaceX-12 2017 mission.
(Image: © NASA TV)
Capture! Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques captured the Dragon spacecraft with Canadarm2 from the station at 7:01 am EDT (11:01 GMT) on May 6, 2019.
(Image: © NASA TV)
SpaceX launched the Dragon freighter on Saturday morning (May 4th) at the top of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida after a week's delay. As the spacecraft approached the station today, the astronauts spotted a small cable on the vessel supposed to come off at launch, but this posed no problem for docking, have said NASA officials.
"It should be noted that this is the second flight of this capsule, which provided the SpaceX-12 mission," said Saint-Jacques. The space shuttle carries a small space station emblem indicating its flight in 2017.
Dragon's current delivery mission is called CRS-17 by NASA and SpaceX-17 by the company. As its name indicates, it is the seventeenth cargo on behalf of NASA by SpaceX since the start of commercial replenishment flights in 2012.
The spacecraft carries a host of new scientific payloads for use both inside and outside the International Space Station.
Among these experiments include NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory-3, an instrument to be installed outside the station to track carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere. The probe also embeds "tissue fragments" to simulate human behavior or human organs in the space, as well as a series of experiments in space genes designed by students for study your yeast DNA repairs in space.
Dragon will remain connected to the station for about a month before being packaged with samples of experiments and other equipment before returning to Earth. The probe has a heat shield and parachutes that allow it to survive the re-entry.
SpaceX is also developing a crewed version of the Dragon spacecraft. The company launched its first test flight of the Dragon Crew capsule earlier this year and hopes to begin astronaut flights by the end of 2019.
But before these crewed flights can begin, SpaceX must complete an investigation into the reasons for the explosion of its spaceship Crew Dragon during a ground test of its abandonment system. last month. The April 20 test on the SpaceX airstrip at Cape Canaveral Air Base was discovered and no injuries were reported.
Once SpaceX completes its investigation, the company based in Hawthorne, Calif., Also plans to launch an in-flight abandonment test of an unarmed Crew Dragon spacecraft before attempting its first mission astronaut test flight. for NASA.
Email Tariq Malik at [email protected] or follow him. @tariqjmalik. follow us @Spacedotcom and Facebook.
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