At 1:44 a.m. EDT, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of California, marking the return of the company’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for NASA.The spacecraft carried back to Earth about 6,700 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments designed to take advantage of the space station’s microgravity environment after undocking at 12:05 p.m., May 23, from the zenith port of the space station’s Harmony module. Some of the scientific hardware and samples Dragon will return to Earth include MISSE-20 (Multipurpose International Space Station Experiment), which exposed various materials to space, including radiation shielding and detection materials, solar sails and reflective coatings, ceramic composites for reentry spacecraft studies, and resins for potential use in heat shields. Samples were retrieved on the exterior of the station and can improve knowledge of how these materials respond to ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, charged particles, thermal cycling, and other factors. Additionally, Astrobee-REACCH (Responsive Engaging Arms for Captive Care and Handling) is returning to Earth after successfully demonstrating grasping and relocating capabilities on the space station. The REACCH demonstration used Astrobee robots to capture space objects of different geometries or surface materials using tentacle-like arms and adhesive pads. Testing a way to safely capture and relocate debris and other objects in orbit could help address end-of-life satellite servicing, orbit change maneuvers, and orbital debris removal. These capabilities maximize satellite lifespan and protect satellites and spacecraft in low Earth orbit that provide services to people on Earth. Books from the Story Time from Space project also will return. Crew members aboard the space station read five science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related children’s books in orbit and videotaped themselves completing science experiments. Video and data collected during the readings and demonstrations were downlinked to Earth and were posted in a video library with accompanying educational materials. Hardware and data from a one-year technology demonstration called OPTICA (Onboard Programmable Technology for Image Compression and Analysis) also will return to Earth. The OPTICA technology was designed to advance transmission of real-time, ultra-high-resolution hyperspectral imagery from space to Earth, and it provided valuable insights for data compression and processing that could reduce the bandwidth required for communication, lowering the cost of acquiring data from space-based imaging systems without reducing the volume of data. This technology also could improve services, such as disaster response, that rely on Earth observations.
SpaceX @SpaceX25 MayDragon is on track to reenter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down off the southern coast of California near Oceanside at ~10:44 p.m. PT
Is ACES the only trunk payload? 750 kg seems on the high side, older papers gave the ACES mass as only 230 kg.Do we know what the 190 kg of spacewalk equipment is? (in particular, is there a new EMU?)
Quote from: jcm on 04/17/2025 04:31 amIs ACES the only trunk payload? 750 kg seems on the high side, older papers gave the ACES mass as only 230 kg.Do we know what the 190 kg of spacewalk equipment is? (in particular, is there a new EMU?)Small update:EMU #3005 launched on SpaceX-32 so there are four suits on the ISS: #3003, #3005, #3013, and #3015 now.
