SpaceX will launch its 25th cargo mission to the International Space Station for NASA on July 14th, bringing food and supplies to the crew.

Beyond the external cargo, CRS-25 is prepared to deliver a handful of scientific investigations all of which will be tested in a controlled-microgravity environment within the ISS. The Dragon capsule, which will take off from Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket, will carry “studies of the immune system, Earth’s oceans, soil, communities and cell-free biomarkers, along with mapping the composition of Earth’s dust and testing an alternative to concrete.”

One study, performed by the University of California, San Francisco and sponsored by the ISS National Lab, will study the effects of microgravity on immune function to determine the mechanisms behind immune system aging. The immunosenescence investigation will explore why microgravity causes changes in human immune cells that result in quicker aging, and see if there is a potential to reverse those effects.

The Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT), developed by NASA’s JPL in Pasadena, will measure the mineral composition of dust in Earth’s arid regions using NASA imaging spectroscopy technology, creating a lucid map that could significantly improve our understanding of how dust affects the human population, as well as Earth’s climate.

Genes in space, an annual research competition for students in grades 7-12, challenges students to design DNA experiments to be conducted aboard the ISS. The program has launched eight investigations so far, and this time around, 17-year-old Selin Kocalar won the okay-for-launch when she proposed to pilot a new technique for detecting waterborne pathogens. Genes in Space-9, also sponsored by the ISS National Lab, will be performed by current crew members of the ISS.

Developed at the MIT, BeaverCube, one of the five CubeStats aboard the mission, will launch to the space station for deployment into low-Earth orbit. The small satellite has multiple cameras and will take color images of Earth’s oceans, as well as collect thermal images of cloud tops and the ocean’s surface to help scientists better understand Earth’s climate and weather systems.

Another one of the CubeStats aboard CRS-25, CapSat-1 was developed by a group of three 7th-grade students from the Weiss School in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The experiment, which began as a novice science fair project, will demonstrate the use of a capacitor-based electrical power system, as opposed to lithium-ion polymer batteries.

DynaMoS, sponsored by NASA’s Division of Biological and Physical Sciences, will examine the effects of microgravity on metabolic interactions in communities of soil microbes. On Earth, complex communities of microorganisms carry out key functions in soil that keep our planet alive. By studying how the soil interacts when faced with conditions in space, like microgravity and radiation, scientists will be able to better understand their functions, as well as how to potentially influence the agricultural production above Earth.

A team from Stanford University will look at how microgravity affects the process of creating a concrete alternative made with organic, on-site materials, such as lunar or Martian dust. Biopolymer Research for In-Situ Capabilities is thinking ahead so that astronauts can be prepared for building sustainable habitats on the moon and Mars.

“Transporting large amounts of conventional construction materials from Earth is logistically and financially infeasible,” said team member Laywood Fayne. The experiment will attempt to make six bricks in microgravity so that scientists can compare the process of brick-building at 1 g and less than 1 g.

The launch was originally scheduled for June 10, but was delayed due to technicians needing to replace part of Dragon’s capsule when they noticed elevated vapor levels of hydrazine.

Written by Brynn Shaffer for Supercluster

Cargo Dragon v2

This is the second generation of SpaceX's Dragon capsule.

Dragon 2 comes in two different types, each based on the same overall design. One variant is built to carry crew, called Crew Dragon. The other version is for cargo-only missions to the ISS.

Like Crew Dragon, Dragon 2 cargo capsules can be used up to five times, can autonomously dock and undock themselves from the ISS, and can bring thousands of kilograms of science and equipment safely back to Earth.

The capsules splashdown off the coast of Florida near the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center to speed up recovery and refurbishment time between flights.

Photo: CRS-22 Dragon. Credit: John Kraus/Supercluster

Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.

Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket.

Stats

Total launches: 322

Total landings: 280

Total reflights: 253

The Falcon 9 has launched 49 humans into orbit since May 2020

Specs

Height: 70 m / 229.6 ft

Diameter: 3.7 m / 12 ft

Mass: 549,054 kg / 1,207,920 lb

Payload to LEO: 22,800 kg / 50,265 lb

Payload to GTO: 8,300 kg / 18,300 lb

Payload to Mars: 4,020 kg / 8,860 lb

On January 24, 2021, Falcon 9 launched the first ride-share mission to Sun Synchronous Orbit. It was delivering a record-setting 143 satellites to space. And while this was an important mission for SpaceX in itself, it was also the moment Falcon 9 overtook United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V for the total number of consecutive successful launches.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had become America’s workhorse rocket, launching 31 times in 2021. It has already beaten that record this year, launching almost an average of once a week. While most of the launches deliver Starlink satellites to orbit, the company is still launching the most commercial payloads to orbit, too.

Falcon 9 is a medium-lift launch vehicle, with the capability to launch over 22.8 metric tonnes to low earth orbit. Unlike any other rocket, its first stage lands back on Earth after separating from its second stage. In part, this allows SpaceX to offer the cheapest option for most customers with payloads that need to reach orbit.

Under its ride-share program, a kilogram can be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit for a mere 1.1 million dollars, far cheaper than all other currently operating small satellite launch vehicles.

The reusability and fast booster turnaround times have made Falcon 9 the preferred choice for private companies and government agencies. This has allowed SpaceX to capture a huge portion of the launch market.

Photo credit: SpaceX

NASA's historic Kennedy Space Center is located on Cape Canaveral, Florida, and has hosted decades of historic space missions since the early days of the Apollo program.

Today, Kennedy Space Center is a multi-user spaceport and hosts private companies like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, and others.

SpaceX leases Launch Complex 39A at NASA's flagship facility and uses the pad to launch its Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 rockets. The pad is also used to launch missions for the Commercial Crew Program for which SpaceX launches astronauts to the Space Station for NASA aboard their Crew Dragon capsule.

Launch Complex 39A was previously used by NASA to launch the Apollo 11 mission to land the first humans on the moon and Space Shuttle missions to assemble the International Space Station and upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.

Image: Erik Kuna for Supercluster

The Harmony module, also known within NASA as Node-2, was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2007 on the STS-120 mission of Shuttle Discovery.

Harmony serves as the gateway between the US scientific and living modules and the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory and Japan's Kibo complex.

The module is equipped with two docking ports for US crew (Dragon and Starliner) and cargo (Dragon) spacecraft and also has one berthing port that can be used for either Northrop Grumman's Cygnus or Japan's HTV cargo ships.

Picture: A cargo Dragon docked to Harmony's zenith, or space-facing docking port. Part of Japan's Kibo complex can been seen to the left of Dragon. Credit: NASA

A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG) is a SpaceX autonomous spaceport droneship (ASDS), operating out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The droneship had been teased by Elon Musk frequently since it was first announced in 2018 and made its debut mission during CRS-23.

Image Credit: Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster