NASA SpaceX CRS-2 SpX-32 (Patreon)

NASA and SpaceX are set to launch the 32nd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday! This flight is contracted under NASA's CRS-2; the second phase of contracts awarded in January of 2016. This mission will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, and deliver critical supplies and scientific experiments to support the ISS crew and ongoing research in low Earth orbit.

Here’s a detailed look at the vehicles involved, mission details, and the cargo/experiments.

The Vehicles:

Falcon 9 B1092 landing at LZ-1 for the NROL-69 mission

Falcon 9 Block 5 (Booster B1092): The launch vehicle for this mission is Falcon 9 Block 5 booster B1092. This will be the third flight for this booster. It previously launched NROL-69 and a Starlink mission. It will place the Cargo Dragon into a 51.6-degree inclination orbit to rendezvous with the ISS. After stage separation, the booster will return to site and land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1).

Cargo Dragon C209 at Kennedy Space Center

Cargo Dragon (C209): The spacecraft is SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon 2, serial number C209, on its fifth flight to the ISS. It previously flew CRS-22, CRS-24, CRS-27, and CRS-30. Unlike the Crew Dragon, Cargo Dragon is uncrewed, lacking the SuperDraco abort engines, seats, cockpit controls, and life support systems. Dragon 2 offers faster refurbishment and the ability to carry up to 3,000 kg of cargo, both pressurized and unpressurized.

After an approximate 28-hour flight, C209 will autonomously dock with the ISS at the Harmony module’s zenith port around 8:20 a.m. ET on Tuesday, the 22nd of April. Expedition 73 Commander Jonny Kim (NASA) and JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi will oversee the spacecraft’s arrival.

After delivering its payload, the spacecraft will remain docked to the ISS for approximately one month before returning to Earth with experiment results and other materials.

Delivered Cargo

C209 will carry approximately 6,700 pounds (3,039 kg) of cargo to the ISS, The cargo includes:

• Consumables: Food, water, and essentials for the ISS’s seven-person crew.

• Catalytic Reactor: A replacement unit for the ISS water recycling system, oxidizing volatile organics from wastewater for removal. This spare replaces a failed unit, which will return for analysis and refurbishment.

• Food Reach Tool Assembly: An L-shaped, hand-held tool to access packages in the food warmer without inserting hands, replacing an in-orbit unit.

• Reducer Cylinder Assembly: Two cylinder tanks providing 15 minutes of emergency oxygen, launched as in-orbit spares.

• Thermal Expansion Device: A device to manage thermal expansion of water in the Hydrogen Dome during removal and replacement, maintaining minimum in-orbit spares.

Experiments and Payloads

Here are some of the experiments and scientific investigations include:

• Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor-2 (SVGS-2): This experiment uses the ISS’s three Astrobee robots to test a NASA-developed, vision-based sensor for controlling a formation flight of small satellites. Building on a prior in-space demonstration, SVGS-2 refines multi-robot maneuvers and integrates with spacecraft systems. Potential applications include improved guidance, navigation, and control for docking crewed spacecraft or remotely operating robots on the Moon or Mars.

• Aerosol Monitors: This investigation tests three air quality monitors to identify the best option for protecting crew health and mission success during long-duration missions. It also evaluates a device to distinguish between smoke and dust, reducing false smoke alarms that require crew response. Accurate monitoring saves crew time and ensures astronaut safety.

• Industrial Crystallization Cassette (ADSEP-ICC): This investigation enhances an existing protein crystallization facility to process diverse samples, including tiny gold particles used in cancer detection devices and targeted drug delivery systems. Microgravity enables the production of larger, more uniform gold particles, improving their research and medical applications. ADSEP, by REDWIRE, is a fully automated, modular, multi-use single middeck locker processing facility used to conduct a variety of life and physical science experiments and small batch manufacturing simultaneously in up to four cassettes.

• DNA Nano Therapeutics-Mission 2: This experiment produces Janus base nanomaterials, DNA-inspired building blocks, to evaluate their ability to reduce joint inflammation and regenerate cartilage lost to arthritis. These materials are less toxic, more stable, and more biocompatible than current drug delivery systems. Microgravity enhances their size, uniformity, and structural integrity, aiding cost-effective in-space production and targeted therapy development.

• Rhodium USAFA NIGHT: This payload examines tomato plant responses to microgravity and tests a carbon dioxide replacement to reduce reliance on photosynthesis, which requires power-intensive lighting. Supplements may increase plant growth, as observed in preflight tests. Results could support food production for long-duration space missions or harsh Earth environments using organic waste.

• Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES): An ESA investigation using two next-generation atomic clocks in microgravity to study fundamental physics, including Einstein’s theory of relativity. Results support scientific measurements, dark matter searches, and clock synchronization for global navigation satellite networks.

Outgoing Cargo

Here is a list of items that will return with C209 after its month stay at the ISS:

• Urine Processor Assembly Pressure Control and Pump Assembly: A multi-tube purge pump for the urine processing subsystem, returning for repair.

• Contingency Transmitter Receiver Assembly: Part of the S-Band Radio Frequency Group for command and control, retrieved during US EVA 92, returning for repair.

• High Gain Antenna Feed Assembly: A gimballed antenna system from the S-Band Radio Frequency Group, retrieved during US EVA 92, returning for repair.

• Low Gain Antenna Sub-Assembly: A helix antenna for signal transmission, retrieved during US EVA 92, returning for repair.

• Planar Reflector Assembly: A laser reflector for visiting spacecraft navigation, retrieved during US EVA 91, returning for repair.

• Multifiltration Bed: A spare water processor unit, returning for refurbishment to improve water quality.

The SpaceX CRS-2 SpX-32 mission is scheduled to launch at 4:15 a.m. ET (0815 UTC) on Monday, April 21, from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Where to Watch:

• SpaceX (@SpaceX): Will broadcast the NASA live feed on X and on spacex.com

• NASA (@NASA): Starting at 3:55 a.m. ET, on X and NASA’s YouTube channel.

• NASA Spaceflight (@NASASpaceflight): X, NASASpaceFlight.com, and their YouTube channel.

• All of the above will live stream Dragon C209’s arrival and docking at the ISS which will begin at 6:45 a.m. ET on April 22.

Go SpaceX! Go NASA! Go CRS-32!

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