Skip to main content

SpaceX Cargo Dragon arrives at space station carrying tiny squid

SpaceX Cargo Dragon approaches the International Space Station on Saturday, June 5.
SpaceX Cargo Dragon approaches the International Space Station on Saturday, June 5. NASA TV

A SpaceX cargo ship that launched on Thursday, June 3, has arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS) early this morning, Saturday, June 5. This was the 22nd resupply mission by SpaceX, and the uncrewed ship carried a variety of experiments as well as upgrades for the space station and supplies for the crew.

The Space Cargo Dragon craft launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at about 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, carried by a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon then traveled over Thursday night and Friday, before arriving at the ISS and docking at 5:09 a.m. ET on Saturday. The spacecraft docked with the Harmony module on the space-facing side of the station, overseen by NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur from onboard the station.

NASA also shared a striking video clip of the Dragon flying into the orbital daytime on its approach to the ISS:

The @SpaceX cargo Dragon flies into orbital daytime as it continues approach to the @Space_Station for docking this morning: pic.twitter.com/AbuLLzrXCq

— NASA (@NASA) June 5, 2021

The Dragon was carrying over 7,300 pounds of supplies, including new solar panels to be added to the ISS as part of a long-term power system upgrade to the station. The Roll-out Solar Arrays (iROSA) are more efficient than the 20-year-old panels currently on the station and should provide a boost to available power.

There are also a number of scientific experiments in the cargo, including experiments with microscopic and incredibly hardy creatures called tardigrades, also known as water bears. Researchers hope to learn more about how these creatures survive in extreme environments. And these aren’t the only quirky creatures hitching a ride into space, as they are also joined by glow in the dark bobtail squid, small sea creatures which are being used in research into the relationship between host animals and microbes.

The station now has a total of five spacecraft docked with it. In addition to the newly arrived Cargo Dragon, coded CRS-22, there is also a Crew-2 Dragon which carried a group of four astronauts to the station in April this year, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft named after Katherine Johnson, and two Russian craft: A Soyuz MS-18 crew ship and a Progress 77 resupply ship.

NASA shared a graphic showing the location of all the craft currently at the ISS:

June 5, 2021: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are attached to the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon spaceships, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, and Russia's Soyuz MS-18 crew ship and ISS Progress 77 resupply ship.
June 5, 2021: International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are attached to the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Cargo Dragon spaceships, the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo craft, and Russia’s Soyuz MS-18 crew ship, and ISS Progress 77 resupply ship. NASA

Editors' Recommendations

Georgina Torbet
Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…
SpaceX needs good weather for Starship launch. Here’s how it’s looking
SpaceX's Starship on the launchpad.

SpaceX is making final preparations to send the Starship to orbit on in what will be only the second test flight of the 400-foot-tall rocket.

The company had originally hoped to launch on Friday but has had to carry out some extra work that's caused a 24-hour delay.

Read more
SpaceX given green light to send mighty Starship rocket skyward
A Super Heavy booster on the launchpad at SpaceX's site in Texas.

A Super Heavy booster on the launchpad at SpaceX's site in Texas. SpaceX / SpaceX

SpaceX has been given the green light to send its Super Heavy rocket and Starship spacecraft skyward in what will be only the second test launch of the world's most powerful spaceflight system.

Read more
How to watch SpaceX launch world’s most powerful rocket on Saturday
The Starship, comprising the first-stage Super Heavy and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft, on the launchpad at SpaceX's facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

 

UPDATE: SpaceX has called off Friday's launch of the Starship and is now targeting Saturday. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a social media post that engineers need to replace a grid fin actuator on the first-stage Super Heavy booster, a part which helps to steer the vehicle back to Earth. This article has been updated with the new launch schedule.

Read more