SpaceX Dragon resupply vessel docks with ISS, heralds experimentation
The Dragon craft launched at 4:15 a.m. EDT Monday and connected to the zenith, space-facing port of the ISS's Harmony module at 8:40 a.m. Tuesday, just 20 minutes later than scheduled.
The craft, known as Commercial Resupply Services 32, or CRS-32, brought about 6,700 pounds of cargo and scientific equipment in what was SpaceX's 32nd commercial resupply services mission for NASA.
Experimentation equipment is among the items Dragon has transported to the ISS. Planned studies include an examination of how time passes in space in comparison to on Earth, the taking of precise measurements of Earth's shape and gravitational field, and a test to see if plant DNA molecules are differently resistant to damage in space.
Astronaut and ISS Commander Takuya Onishi, a current crew member aboard the ISS, posted to X Monday that after the cargo has been unloaded from the Dragon, "It will be a busy month," that will also see Onishi undertake "time-sensitive experimental work" that includes a gravisensing experiment, that studies how cells sense gravity.
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