SpaceX CRS-23

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SpaceX CRS-23
On Approach to the Space Station.jpg
On 30 August 2021, CRS-23 approaches the ISS for an autonomous docking to the Harmony module's forward international docking adapter.
NamesSpX-23
Mission type ISS resupply
Operator SpaceX
COSPAR ID 2021-078A OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
SATCAT no. 49117
Mission duration32 days, 19 hours, 42 minutes
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft Cargo Dragon   C208
Manufacturer SpaceX
Launch mass6,000 kg (13,000 lb)
Payload mass2,207 kg (4,866 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date29 August 2021, 07:14:49 UTC [1]
Rocket Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1061.4)
Launch site Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A
Contractor SpaceX
End of mission
Recovered by GO Searcher
Landing date1 October 2021, 02:57 UTC [2]
Landing site Atlantic Ocean
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric orbit
Regime Low Earth orbit
Inclination 51.66°
Docking with International Space Station
Docking port Harmony forward
Docking date30 August 2021, 14:30 UTC
Undocking date30 September 2021, 13:12 UTC
Time docked30 days, 22 hours, 42 minutes
SpaceX CRS-23 Patch.png
SpaceX CRS-23 mission patch  

SpaceX CRS-23, also known as SpX-23, was a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station, successfully launched on 29 August 2021 and docking the following day. [1] The mission was contracted by NASA and was flown by SpaceX using the Cargo Dragon C208. This was the third flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2 contract awarded in January 2016. It was the second mission for this reusable capsule.

Contents

Along with SpaceX Crew-2 ( Endeavour ) and Inspiration4 ( Resilience ), C208 was one of three SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft in space simultaneously from 15 to 18 September 2021.

Cargo Dragon

Multiple views of CRS-23 mission Falcon 9 from liftoff to first-stage landing.

SpaceX plans to reuse the Cargo Dragons up to five times. Since it does not support a crew, the Cargo Dragon launches without SuperDraco abort engines, seats, cockpit controls or the life support system required to sustain astronauts in space. [3] [4] Dragon 2 improves on Dragon 1 in several ways, including lessened refurbishment time, leading to shorter periods between flights. [5]

Cargo Dragon capsules under the NASA CRS Phase 2 contract splash down near Florida under parachutes in the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean.

Payload

NASA contracted for the CRS-23 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date of launch, and orbital parameters for the Cargo Dragon. [6]

GITAI S1 Robotic Arm Tech Demo

The GITAI S1 Robotic Arm Tech Demo will test GITAI Japan Inc.'s microgravity robot by placing the arm inside the newly added Nanoracks Bishop Airlock, which was carried to the station by Dragon C208 during the SpaceX CRS-21 mission last year. Once inside the airlock, the arm will perform numerous tests to demonstrate its versatility and dexterity. [7]

Designed by GITAI Japan Inc., the robot will work as a general-purpose helper under the pressurized environment inside the Bishop Airlock. It will operate tools and switches and run scientific experiments. The next step will be to test it outside the ISS in the harsh space environment. The robot will be able to perform tasks both autonomously and via teleoperations. Its arm has eight degrees of freedom and a 1-meter reach. GITAI S1 is a semi-autonomous/semi-teleoperated robotic arm designed to conduct specified tasks internally and externally on space stations, on-orbit servicing, and lunar base development. By combining autonomous control via AI and teleoperations via the specially designed GITAI manipulation system H1, GITAI S1 on its own, possesses the capability to conduct generous-purpose tasks (manipulation of switches, tools, soft objects; conducting science experiments and assembly; high-load operations; etc.) that were extremely difficult for industrial robots such as task specific robotic arms to do.

Research

The new experiments arriving at the orbiting laboratory will inspire future scientists and explorers, and provide valuable insight for researchers.

NASA Glenn Research Center studies: [8]

Student Spaceflight Experiments Program The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) has five experiments manifested:

Malta's First In Space


European Space Agency (ESA) research and activities:

CubeSats

CubeSats included in this mission (ELaNa 37):

See also

Related Research Articles

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Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station (ISS) are made primarily to deliver cargo, however several Russian modules have also docked to the outpost following uncrewed launches. Resupply missions typically use the Russian Progress spacecraft, European Automated Transfer Vehicles, Japanese Kounotori vehicles, and the American Dragon and Cygnus spacecraft. The primary docking system for Progress spacecraft is the automated Kurs system, with the manual TORU system as a backup. ATVs also use Kurs, however they are not equipped with TORU. The other spacecraft — the Japanese HTV, the SpaceX Dragon and the Northrop Grumman Cygnus — rendezvous with the station before being grappled using Canadarm2 and berthed at the nadir port of the Harmony or Unity module for one to two months. Progress, Cygnus and ATV can remain docked for up to six months. Under CRS phase 2, Cargo Dragon docks autonomously at IDA-2 or 3 as the case may be. As of December 2022, Progress spacecraft have flown most of the uncrewed missions to the ISS.

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