{"id":37277,"date":"2020-12-06T21:10:52","date_gmt":"2020-12-06T13:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacexs-debut-cargo-dragon-2-docks-to-station\/"},"modified":"2020-12-06T21:10:52","modified_gmt":"2020-12-06T13:10:52","slug":"spacexs-debut-cargo-dragon-2-docks-to-station","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacexs-debut-cargo-dragon-2-docks-to-station\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX\u2019s debut Cargo Dragon 2 docks to Station"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX launched their 21st contracted Cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the first flight of Cargo Dragon 2, the company\u2019s new and upgraded un-crewed cargo spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>The Commercial Resupply Services-21 (CRS-21) mission lifted off from Launch Complex-39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center on 6 December 2020 at 16:17:08 UTC (11:17:08 EST) to start an approximately 30 day mission to the ISS to resupply the seven member Expedition 64 crew.<\/p>\n<p>The automated docking occurred at 13:40 EST (18:40 UTC) to <em>Node-2\/Harmony\u2019s<\/em> space-facing zenith docking port.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The docking<\/p>\n<p>After receiving a \u201cgo\u201d for Approach Initiation, the first Cargo Dragon 2 will perform the burn 75 km distance from the Station.&nbsp; The 90 second maneuver will change Cargo Dragon\u2019s velocity by 0.79 m\/s and align its orbit to intercept Waypoint Zero, 400 meters below the Station, at 12:29 EST (17:29 UTC).<\/p>\n<p>The craft aligned itself onto the docking axis at 13:07 EST (18:07 UTC) at a range of 220 m while continuing to approach the outpost.<\/p>\n<p>Cargo Dragon 2 will then arrive 20 m above the docking port at its final hold point, where it will remain as teams confirm that all personnel, Houston (NASA mission control), Hawthorne (SpaceX mission control), and the Station are all \u201cgo\u201d for docking.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-72026\" class=\"wp-image-72026 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/iss_config_crew1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/iss_config_crew1.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/iss_config_crew1-350x197.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/iss_config_crew1-622x350.jpg 622w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/iss_config_crew1-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/iss_config_crew1-1170x658.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-72026\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Station configuration prior to CRS-21. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>The Russian crew and Russian mission control near Moscow will also be monitoring Cargo Dragon 2\u2019s automated approach \u2014 just as NASA monitors automated arrivals and departures of Russian Progress and Soyuz crafts.<\/p>\n<p>The craft had to hold at the 20 m point until 13:36 EST (18:36 UTC) due to a predicted communications blockage on orbit during the original docking time.<\/p>\n<p>Contact and Capture occurred at 13:40 EST (18:40 UTC) and will mark the first automated docking of a U.S. cargo vehicle to the International Space Station and the first time International Docking Adapter #3 is used on the Station.<\/p>\n<p>IDA #2 is currently occupied by SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon <em>Resilience<\/em> for the Crew-1 mission and previously hosted the Demo-2 and Demo-1 Crew Dragon missions as well.<\/p>\n<p>Once Contact and Capture is achieved, the two vehicles will be allowed to let relative motions dampen before a hard dock occurs \u2014 a process that takes approximately 13 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>Launch preparations<\/p>\n<p>The Falcon 9 first stage booster that lofted the spacecraft into space was B1058, which had successfully flown three prior flights including the launch of SpaceX Demo-2 earlier this year (the first crewed test flight of SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon spacecraft), ANASIS-II for South Korea, and an October Starlink mission.<\/p>\n<p>B1058 and Dragon capsule C208, the first purpose-built Cargo Dragon 2 capsule, were rolled out to LC-39A on 2 December via SpaceX\u2019s horizontal crawler-transporter vehicle, following which the rocket was moved upright and into launch position.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"SpaceX CRS-21 Launch Debuts Upgraded Dragon Resupply Spacecraft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XyUJIn1PTU8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\" name=\"fitvid0\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On 4 December, the rocket performed a routine static fire test, certifying it for flight.<\/p>\n<p>Although the mission had remained on track for a launch attempt on 5 December, weather conditions in the recovery zone forced a scrub hours before liftoff. The 6 December attempt had more favorable weather conditions for both recovery and launch.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike prior cargo resupply missions, the new Cargo Dragon 2 carried too much mass to permit a Return To Launch Site (RTLS) landing of the Falcon 9 first stage.&nbsp; Instead, the first stage \u2014 like Crew Dragon, from which Cargo Dragon is now derived \u2014 made use of a drone ship in the Atlantic for landing and recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Cargo Dragon to Cargo Dragon 2:<\/p>\n<p>In December 2008, NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract for 12 resupply flights to the ISS under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. The contracts called for commercial companies to develop and operate un-crewed resupply spacecraft capable of delivering supplies like food and scientific equipment to the ISS.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX\u2019s initial contract was extended to 20 flights in 2015, which kept the first version of Cargo Dragon flying until early 2020 when CRS-20 launched to resupply the Expedition 62 crew, marking the end of SpaceX\u2019s original CRS contract.<\/p>\n<p>Under the first round of CRS contracts, SpaceX developed the Cargo Dragon spacecraft, which was launched aboard their Falcon 9 rocket. Following two successful demonstration flights, SpaceX began operational resupply flights to the ISS with the launch of CRS-1 in October 2012.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71771\" class=\"wp-image-71771 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CRS-21-Cargo-Dragon-2-Hawthorne-Oct-2020-SpaceX-1-crop-c-1536x820-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"820\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CRS-21-Cargo-Dragon-2-Hawthorne-Oct-2020-SpaceX-1-crop-c-1536x820-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CRS-21-Cargo-Dragon-2-Hawthorne-Oct-2020-SpaceX-1-crop-c-1536x820-1-350x187.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CRS-21-Cargo-Dragon-2-Hawthorne-Oct-2020-SpaceX-1-crop-c-1536x820-1-630x336.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CRS-21-Cargo-Dragon-2-Hawthorne-Oct-2020-SpaceX-1-crop-c-1536x820-1-768x410.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/CRS-21-Cargo-Dragon-2-Hawthorne-Oct-2020-SpaceX-1-crop-c-1536x820-1-1170x625.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-71771\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dragon capsule C208, the Cargo Dragon spacecraft to be used on CRS-21 during processing at SpaceX\u2019s HQ in Hawthorne. A photo of its predecessor can be seen in the background. (Credit: SpaceX)<\/p>\n<p>During the bidding process for CRS2 contracts, SpaceX submitted an upgraded Cargo Dragon design, known as Cargo Dragon 2, which was based of their Crew Dragon spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>As SpaceX\u2019s first CRS2 flight, CRS-21 will mark Cargo Dragon 2\u2019s first flight.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the first Dragon design, Crago Dragon 2 ditches the deployable solar \u201cwings\u201d and instead uses a trunk half covered in solar panels to provide power, like Crew Dragon.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\">See Also<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>CRS-21 UPDATES<\/li>\n<li>SpaceX Missions Section<\/li>\n<li>L2 SpaceX Section<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The spacecraft also features a much smoother and cleaner exterior capsule design and a different docking mechanism, switching from the Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) used on Cargo Dragon to the International Docking System Standard (IDSS) used on Crew Dragon and Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>The switch from CBM to IDSS means that Cargo Dragon 2 will not use the berthing ports its predecessor used and instead will use one of two pressurized mating adapter (PMA) docking ports located on the ISS\u2019s <em>Harmony&nbsp;<\/em>module. It also means Cargo Dragon 2 will not \u201cberth\u201d to the ISS, wherein Canadarm2 (also known as the Space Station Remote Manipulator System, or SSRMS) would grab hold of the spacecraft and manually attach (or berth) it to the Station. This process was used by the original Cargo Dragon and is currently utilized by Northrop Grumman\u2019s Cygnus spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>Externally, Cargo Dragon 2 differs from its crewed counterpart, lacking windows and SuperDragon abort systems. Most differences between Crew Dragon and Crgo Dragon 2 are derived from the fact that Cargo Dragon is not required to have launch escape capability.<\/p>\n<p>Crew Dragon is fitted with eight SpaceX-developed SuperDraco engines, located in four, two engine clusters around the outside of the capsule, which are there to pull the capsule and its crew to safety away from a Falcon 9 in the event of a catastrophic failure during fueling or launch. Since Cargo Dragon does not carry crew, the spacecraft does not have to carry those systems; therefore the SuperDracos have been removed from the Cargo Dragon capsule \u2014 a mass savings that allows for additional cargo to carried to Station instead.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71953\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71953\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-05-at-07.01.54.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1448\" height=\"874\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-05-at-07.01.54.png 1448w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-05-at-07.01.54-350x211.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-05-at-07.01.54-580x350.png 580w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-05-at-07.01.54-180x110.png 180w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-05-at-07.01.54-768x464.png 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Screen-Shot-2020-12-05-at-07.01.54-1170x706.png 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1448px) 100vw, 1448px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-71953\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">CRS-21, Cargo Dragon 2\u2019s first mission to the Station, seen on LC-39A on 4 December. The Falcon 9 booster will make its fourth flight with this mission. (Credit: Stephen Marr for NSF\/L2)<\/p>\n<p>Cargo Dragon 2 is still capable of surviving a Falcon 9 breakup during flight even without the escape system and would parachute to the Atlantic for recovery if a launch mishap were to occur and the timing of the mishap during flight allowed \u2014 as its predecessor was capable of doing after the in-flight loss of CRS-7 in June 2015.<\/p>\n<p>For additional mass savings, SpaceX has also removed two of the four fins located on Dragon\u2019s trunk, the only aerodynamic purpose of which is to keep the capsule stable in the event of a launch abort; therefore they were not needed for Cargo Dragon. Despite this, two were kept on the trunk \u2014 as they are half covered in solar panels, meaning removing them would result in a reduction of the electrical generation capability of the spacecraft.<\/p>\n<p>Cargo Dragon 2 also lacks all of the life support and onboard control systems present on Crew Dragon that are needed for humans. Instead, it carries minimal support systems to ensure conditions are kept acceptable for hatch opening on the Station and ISS Crew ingress to the vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>Payload rundown:<\/p>\n<p>Aboard CRS-21 is 2,914 kilograms of pressurized and unpressurised cargo, broken down into ISS crew supplies, scientific experiments, spacewalk equipment, and other vehicle hardware. Included in that are five scientific experiments sponsored by NASA and their international partner agencies being flown to the Station in order to be carried out under the unique microgravity environment the orbital laboratory provides.<\/p>\n<p>NASA\u2019s BRazing of Aluminum alloys IN space (BRAINS), a physical science experiment, is one of those individual investigations being carried uphill by Cargo Dragon. The purpose of BRAINS is to study the effect of microgravity on \u201ccapillary flow, interface reactions, and bubble formation\u201d during the solidification of brazing metals.<\/p>\n<p>Brazing is a process that involves superheating certain metals in order to melt them and then solidifying them in a manner which allows them to be joined without the use of any other adhesive. How this could occur in microgravity is consequential to future space exploration as it is believed that brazing could be a process used to build future space habitats and other in space hardware.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71934\" class=\"wp-image-71934 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Bishop-Mission-Patch-332x350.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"332\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Bishop-Mission-Patch-332x350.png 332w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Bishop-Mission-Patch.png 455w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 332px) 100vw, 332px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-71934\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bishop mission patch. (Credit: NanoRacks)<\/p>\n<p>CRS-21 will also act as a follow up to the European Space Agency\u2019s (ESA\u2019s) BioRock experiment that studied the interactions between microbes and rocks in microgravity, possibly affecting the future of biomining on Earth and in space.&nbsp; BioRock launched on SpaceX\u2019s CRS-18 resupply flight in July 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Now, ESA\u2019s BioAsteroid investigation is planned to act as a follow up. The experiment is relatively similar to its predecessor, investigating the interactions between rocks and microbes in space in order to inform later biomining efforts. It is also possible that the results of BioAsteriod will be useful for utilizing extraterrestrial regolith for life support purposes.<\/p>\n<p>Also included within the scientific payload are NASA\u2019s Cardinal Heart, Space Tango-Human Brain Organoids, and HemoCue experiments \u2014 which all go towards investigating several biological issues relating to how microgravity effects the human heart and brain, as well testing a new way to quickly and accurately count white blood cells \u2014 which are part of the body\u2019s the immune system that protect against both infectious disease and foreign invaders.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, packed away in Dragon\u2019s unpressurised \u201ctrunk\u201d is <em>Bishop,&nbsp;<\/em>a new commercially developed airlock designed to deploy microsatellites from the ISS. <em>Bishop&nbsp;<\/em>is developed by NanoRacks LLC, an American company based in Houston, Texas, and has been involved in the space industry since its creation in 2009 \u2014 developing in-space hardware and other systems for private and public use.<\/p>\n<p>Following Dragon\u2019s arrival, <em>Bishop&nbsp;<\/em>will be remotely removed from the truck by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS; also known as Canadarm 2) and moved to the <em>Tranquility&nbsp;<\/em>(Node 3) module near the middle of the Station, where it will be located for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71939\" class=\"wp-image-71939 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Web-Size_Bishop-Airlock-Greenhouse.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Web-Size_Bishop-Airlock-Greenhouse.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Web-Size_Bishop-Airlock-Greenhouse-350x210.png 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Web-Size_Bishop-Airlock-Greenhouse-583x350.png 583w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Web-Size_Bishop-Airlock-Greenhouse-768x461.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-71939\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rendering of Bishop with two external payloads connected to the outside. (Credit: Mack Crawford for NanoRacks)<\/p>\n<p><em>Bishop <\/em>is designed to deploy cubesats from the U.S. segment of the ISS (which included Europe, Japan, and Canada), without needing a spacewalk or the Kibo airlock module, located on the Japanese laboratory module. The airlock was originally intended to launch on SpaceX CRS-19 last December, although its launch was pushed back to CRS-21.<\/p>\n<p>From its location on <em>Tranquility, Bishop&nbsp;<\/em>will be accessed by astronauts from inside of the ISS from a single entrance point on the airlock. Unlike traditional airlocks, <em>Bishop&nbsp;<\/em>does not have any hatches or exits for the payloads once loaded; instead, Canadarm2 will grab the airlock and remove the entire assembly was <em>Tranquility<\/em> before payloads are jettisoned from the same access point astronauts previous used to load the deployable elements once Canadarm2 has the airlock in the correct \u201cdeployment\u201d position.<\/p>\n<p>The airlock can also be taken by Canadarm2 to the Mobile Base System and then driven out along the Station\u2019s truss to deploy payloads farther from the Station\u2019s core modules for clearance concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Although mainly intended for use in deploying small satellites, NanoRacks also advertises some of <em>Bishop\u2019s&nbsp;<\/em>other uses, including being able to support spacewalks, being capable of easily getting new tools other other equipment outside the Station for use by astronauts already outside, or as a platform for scientific experiments and external payloads that would be exposed to the vacuum of space.<\/p>\n<p><em>Lead image: CRS-21 Canadarm2 operations. Mack Crawford (NSF\/L2)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX launched their 21st contracted Cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the first flight of Cargo Dragon 2, the company\u2019s new and upgraded un-crewed cargo spacecraft. The Commercial Resupply Services-21 (CRS-21) mission lifted off from Launch Complex-39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center on 6 December 2020 at 16:17:08 UTC (11:17:08 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[8848,8308,479,233,190,316],"class_list":["post-37277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-bishop","tag-cargo-dragon-2","tag-falcon-9","tag-iss","tag-nasa","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37277"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37277\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}