Sunday, November 27, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station carrying a wide variety of scientific experiments as well as a pair of new solar arrays for the station’s ongoing power system upgrades. These upgrades are being carried out as part of the station’s expansion efforts. After being propelled by a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, November 26 at 2:20 p.m. ET, the Dragon was on its way to the station this morning at 7:39 a.m. ET when it docked at that location. The launch took place on November 26 at 2:20 p.m. ET.
While the Dragon remained unmanned during the docking process, NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann oversaw the process to ensure a successful outcome. The Dragon successfully docked with the Harmony module of the station. The Dragon, which is part of a mission with the designation CRS-26, is now docked at a busy space station. Other craft already docked there include the Crew-5 Dragon, which delivered astronauts to the station in October; a Cygnus-18 spacecraft, which delivered supplies during an uncrewed launch earlier this month; a Russian Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft, which delivered two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut to the station in September; and two Russian Progress
In addition to supplies weighing a total of 7,700 pounds, the Dragon carried a variety of technological demonstrations and scientific experiments. These items, together with the supplies, will now be unloaded from the Dragon and brought inside the space station. It is anticipated that the Dragon will remain docked with the station for close to a month before being loaded up with supplies and the results of any scientific investigations that have been conducted, after which it will go on an uncrewed journey back to Earth.
Two brand-new solar arrays have been shipped to the space station as part of the delivery made by the Dragon. These arrays, which have been given the name International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays, or iROSAs, are going to be installed at an angle above the station’s current array as a part of a more extensive plan to modernize the station’s power system over the course of several years. Because of advancements in technology, even though the new arrays are much more compact than their predecessors, they are still capable of producing the same amount of power. The new arrays that have just arrived will be installed during the spacewalks that will take place in the near future, while some of the new arrays have already been installed.
According to a statement made by NASA, “These solar panels, which roll out using stored kinetic energy, improve the energy-production capacity of the space station.” Once deployed, the second pair that is launching in the Dragon’s trunk will be a part of the broader plan to provide an increase in power for space station research and operations of 20% to 30%.
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