CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Nearly 2.5 tons of NASA science investigations and cargo are on the way to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft. The spacecraft launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 3:25 p.m. EDT Friday, April 18.
The mission is the company's third cargo delivery flight to the station through a $1.6 billion NASA Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon's cargo will support more than 150 experiments to be conducted by the crews of ISS Expeditions 39 and 40.
The scientific payloads on Dragon include investigations into efficient plant growth in space, human immune system function in microgravity, Earth observation, and a demonstration of laser optics communication. Also being delivered is a set of high-tech legs for Robonaut 2, which will provide the humanoid robot torso already aboard the orbiting laboratory the mobility it needs to help with regular and repetitive tasks inside the space station.
Dragon also will deliver a second set of investigations sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the portion of the space station that is designated a U.S. National Laboratory. The investigations include research into plant biology and protein crystal growth, a field of study experts believe may lead to beneficial advancements in drug development through protein mapping.
On its way to the ISS, SpaceX's Falcon rocket jettisoned five small research satellites known as CubeSats that will perform a variety of technology demonstrations. The small satellites are part of NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite, or ElaNa, mission, and involved more than 120 students in their design, development and construction. One of the satellites, PhoneSat 2.5, is the third in a series of CubeSat missions designed to use commercially available smartphone technology as part of a low-cost development effort to provide basic spacecraft capabilities. Another of the small satellites, SporeSat, is designed to help scientists study the mechanisms by which plant cells sense gravity -- valuable research in the larger effort to grow plants in space.
Dragon is scheduled to depart the space station May 18 for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, west of Baja California, bringing from the space station nearly 3,500 pounds of science, hardware, crew supplies and spacewalk tools.
With development completed under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, Dragon has begun operational flights. SpaceX has completed three operational flights and one test flight.
NASA contracts are the primary source of income for SpaceX's Dragon. The company, however, has additional plans for the vehicle. SpaceX has signed a marketing agreement with Bigelow Aerospace. The companies will jointly market flights to Bigelow's space habitats orbiting in low Earth orbit on board Dragon space vehicles. Bigelow says it can transport astronauts to its inflatable space stations using Dragon capsules and Falcon 9 launch vehicles for about $26 million per astronaut.
Dragon production is expected to remain steady until 2014, after which it will continue at a much slower pace. Because the Dragon is reusable, new spacecraft will not need to be manufactured for each mission. Instead, spacecraft that return from one mission will be sent on another.
However, over time, spacecraft will need to be replaced. In addition, SpaceX markets the Dragon for both government and commercial missions. With time, the company may need to expand its fleet of vehicles. Forecast International expects a new spacecraft to be produced periodically after SpaceX builds up an initial fleet of eight vehicles.
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