www.merdeka.com – SpaceX’s all-new CRS-26 Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) early Sunday (11/27), carrying tons of fresh supplies, new solar wings and even some ice cream for the orbiting laboratory.
Reported by space. comOn Tuesday (11/29), the freighter launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday afternoon (11/26) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and docked with the orbiting laboratory Sunday at approximately 7:39 EST (1230 GMT ) ) or 5.30 WIB.
“We are excited to unpack and get to work,” NASA astronaut Josh Cassada radioed mission control from the ISS after receiving the shipment.
The Dragon carried 7,700 pounds or 3,500 kg of cargo. The manifest includes two new ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA), pieces of equipment designed to augment the laboratory’s existing solar wings.
The ISS will be equipped with six iROSAs, which together will increase the station’s power supply by 20 to 30 percent. Spacefaring astronauts have installed two new arrays to date.
Dragon also delivered various science experiments to the ISS during this trip. Such as the research on growing dwarf cherry tomatoes from seed in an attempt to increase food production beyond the Earth.
In addition, astronauts will continue to research the “Moon Microscope,” an instrument for in-flight medical diagnosis, and “Falcon Goggles” that capture high-speed video of astronauts’ eye movements to assess the impact of microgravity on their well-being.
“A device like this will be invaluable as we work to prepare astronauts for long-term exploration missions to the Moon and beyond to Mars,” said Cherie Oubre, deputy aeronautical scientist in NASA’s human research program.
Dragon is normally docked with the ISS for about a month, but NASA officials say CRS-26 will remain airborne for 45 days or more. This extra time is allocated to allow for the spacewalks needed to install iROSA.
Dragon is said to be landing at sea with the aid of a parachute, the only current cargo ship to return to Earth in one piece after completing its mission.
The other two active launchers, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus vehicle and Russia’s Progress aircraft, are designed to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere when their orbit time expires.
Intern journalist: Dinda Khansa Berlian
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