On July 16, SpaceX successfully completed its 25th cargo resupply mission, transporting over 2.6 tons of scientific equipment and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).
The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship docked with the International Space Station (ISS). Video: NASA
A total of 2,630 kg of cargo was launched aboard the Dragon spacecraft using a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, at 7:44 AM on July 15 (Hanoi time). After an orbital chase lasting more than a day and a half, the spacecraft arrived at the ISS at 10:21 PM yesterday at an altitude of 430 km above the South Atlantic Ocean.
This is SpaceX’s 25th cargo flight to the ISS for NASA, thus it is designated CRS-25. The number of flights has been steadily increasing, with approximately two missions per year since the company’s first ISS resupply mission in 2012.
However, the overall number of launches by SpaceX is much higher. The CRS-25 mission marked the 30th launch of the Falcon 9 this year, even though it is only July. In contrast, the total number of launches for all of 2021 was just 31. SpaceX aims to double that number by the end of this year.
About half of the weight that Dragon carried to the ISS on CRS-25 was allocated for scientific research. NASA officials stated that this mission will contribute to nearly 40 research projects taking place in the orbital laboratory.
Notable projects include investigating the effects of microgravity on the wound healing process, studying the relationship between the immune system and aging, and the body’s ability to self-heal. Additionally, there is a special biopolymer concrete experiment to see if it can aid in developing building materials on the Moon in the future.
CRS-25 also carried various supplies and equipment for the astronauts’ life on the space station, including a backup pump for the toilet, a dosing pump for processing urine before recycling it into drinking water, and two filters for the water purification system.
The Dragon spacecraft is expected to remain docked at the ISS for about a month, after which it will bring back some equipment from the station and return to Earth, landing in the waters off the coast of Florida in mid-August.
