Dragon Installed to Station’s Harmony Module for Cargo Operations

SpaceX — Dragon CRS-18 Mission patch.

July 28, 2019

Two days after its launch from Florida, the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was installed on the Earth-facing side of the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 12:01 p.m. EDT.

The 18th contracted commercial resupply mission from SpaceX (CRS-18) delivers more than 5,000 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory.

Image above: July 27, 2019: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are parked at the space station including the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus space freighter, the Progress 72 resupply ship and the Soyuz MS-12 and MS-13 crew ships. Image Credit: NASA.

A key item in Dragon’s unpressurized cargo section is International Docking Adapter-3 (IDA-3). Flight controllers at mission control in Houston will use the robotic arm to extract IDA-3 from Dragon and position it over Pressurized Mating Adapter-3, on the space-facing side of the Harmony module. NASA astronauts Nick Hague and  Andrew Morgan, who arrived at the station Saturday, July 20, will conduct a spacewalk in mid-August to install the docking port, connect power and data cables, and set up a high-definition camera on a boom arm.

Robotics flight control teams from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency will move the docking port into position remotely before the astronauts perform the final installation steps. IDA-3 and IDA-2, which was installed in the summer of 2016, provide a new standardized and automated docking system for future spacecraft, including upcoming commercial spacecraft that will transport astronauts through contracts with NASA.

SpaceX CRS-18 Dragon berthing

Video above: The SpaceX Dragon CRS-18 cargo spacecraft was berthed to the International Space Station’s Harmony module on 27 July 2019, at 16:01 UTC (12:01 EDT). The spacecraft was captured with the International Space Station’s robotic Canadarm2 by NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch, on 27 July 2019, at 13:11 UTC (09:11 EDT). The CRS-18 Dragon spacecraft was launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on 25 July 2019 at 22:01 UTC (18:01 EDT). The CRS-18 Dragon spacecraft previously supported the CRS-6 mission in April 2015 and the CRS-13 mission in December 2017. Video Credits: NASA TV/SciNews.

Here’s some of the science arriving at station:

Effects of Microgravity on Microglia 3D Models

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) – adult cells genetically programmed to return to an embryonic stem cell-like state – have the ability to develop into any cell type in the human body, potentially providing an unlimited source of human cells for therapeutic purposes. Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells examines how specialized white blood cells derived from iPSCs of patients with Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis grow and move in 3D cultures, and any changes in gene expression that occur as a result of exposure to a microgravity environment. Results could lead to the development of potential therapies.

Mechanisms of Moss in Microgravity

Space Moss compares mosses grown aboard the space station with those grown on Earth to determine how microgravity affects its growth, development, and other characteristics. Tiny plants without roots, mosses need only a small area for growth, an advantage for their potential use in space and future bases on the Moon or Mars. This investigation also could yield information that aids in engineering other plants to grow better on the Moon and Mars, as well as on Earth.

After Dragon spends approximately one month attached to the space station, the spacecraft will return to Earth with cargo and research.

Related articles:

Dragon Captured With New Science Experiments
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/07/dragon-captured-with-new-science.html

Dragon Reaches Orbit, Astronauts Prepare for Saturday Capture
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/07/dragon-reaches-orbit-astronauts-prepare.html

SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Launches CRS-18
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2019/07/spacex-falcon-9-successfully-launches.html

Related links:

Canadarm2: https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/tag/canadarm2/

Space Tango-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7976

Space Moss: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/explorer/Investigation.html?#id=7892

International Docking Adapter-3: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/meet-the-international-docking-adapter

Harmony module: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/harmony

Space Station Research and Technology: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

International Space Station (ISS): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html

Image (mentioned), Video (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/Mark Garcia.

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