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Early Monday, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launched on Friday will arrive at the International Space Station. When it arrives, a robotic arm, powered by astronauts aboard the station, will pull it out of space and attach it to a port before unloading a cargo including a wizard, parts spare parts and scientific experiments. Perhaps the most exciting for astronauts on board, the load will also include 60 bags of dehydrated gourmet coffee
Most of the process will be broadcast live by NASA at nasa.gov/nasalive, starting at 5:30 am ET on Monday . , 2nd of July. The Dragon Attachment to the Space Station is expected to begin at 9:00 am Eastern Time
The docking will be a surprisingly analogous process using the robotic arm of the Canadarm 2, as its name suggests. 39, says Agency. It can be operated from a windowed bubble on the ISS by an astronaut using a variety of joysticks and switches, as shown in this tour by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. The operator relies in part on direct visuals, with a series of cameras on the arm and live telemetry detailed on the screens.
After the Canadarm 2 "attacks" the Dragon, another long process will link it to a module hatch. A dragon first docked at the ISS in 2012, and Monday's docking will mark the 15th replenishment by the vehicle. It will remain docked at the ISS for at least several days while the crew unloads its cargo.
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The Dragon is also, according to SpaceX, the only currently active vehicle capable of returning " large quantities of goods "on Earth. For example, the May CRS-14 mission came to the surface with an experimental space robot known as Robonaut 2. This device was launched in 2011 and, like the CIMON droid arriving on Monday, was intended to help astronauts around from the station. But Robonaut 2 has been confronted with a series of technical problems during his service.
The Dragon Gear, known as the CRS-15, was launched on what should be the last flight of the "Block 4" version of the Falcon. 9 rocket. The gear and rocket were reused during previous missions, continuing to demonstrate the fulfillment of SpaceX's long-term goal of creating reusable spacecraft. Block 4 Falcon 9 will be replaced by a Block 5 version, designed to further increase this reusability.
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