SpaceX's Dragon docks at International Space Station with 2,600 kg cargo; Watch

The Dragon spacecraft launched by SpaceX on July 15 docked with the International Space Station (ISS) after a day-long journey. After lifting off atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, the capsule reached the ISS at around 8:40 pm IST on July 16 with around 2,600 kg of cargo. The spacecraft was sent to space under the Commercial Resupply Mission (CRS-25), which marked the 25th mission SpaceX conducted for NASA.

On July 16, the official Twitter handle of the space station tweeted a video of the Dragon approaching the orbiting laboratory. In the video, the capsule can be seen rapidly firing its thrusters to steer itself to the space station’s Harmony module port for docking. The mission team said that the spacecraft arrived at its destination ahead of the schedule at 8:51 pm. 

"The Exp 67 crew will soon open the hatch and begin unloading over 5,800 pounds of new science experiments and crew supplies," the tweet read. NASA astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins were monitoring operations from the station as the spacecraft autonomously docked at the space station.

Dragon carries new science experiments to Space

In the capsule, NASA sent loads of new science experiments and other essentials for the expedition 67 crew aboard the space station. Weighing 2,500 pounds, the cargo included experiments such as the study of the ageing of immune cells and methods to reverse it during postflight recovery. It also includes the Genes in Space-9 experiment which according to NASA "could provide a simple, portable, and low-cost tool for medical diagnostics, on-demand production of medicine and vaccines, and environmental monitoring on future space missions."

Besides, the creation of an alternative to concrete for building habitats on the Moon and Mars is also one of the experiments sent into space. In addition to this, the spacecraft also carried NASA's brand new mission-- the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT)-- to generate maps of the mineral composition in the regions on Earth that produce dust and to understand the effects of mineral dust on human populations.

Image: NASA