posted 04-15-2025 04:12 PM               

SpaceX CRS-32 Mission Overview

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the CRS-32 Dragon spacecraft to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station for NASA.

The 12th flight under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract with SpaceX, the CRS-32 Dragon will carry research, logistics and hardware for the Expedition 73 crew including:

• Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor-2 (SVGS-2) — to demonstrate using a vision-based sensor developed by NASA to control a formation flight of small satellites.

• DNA Nano Therapeutics-Mission 2 — to produce a special type of molecule formed by DNA-inspired, customizable building blocks known as Janus base nanomaterials.

• Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) — to examine fundamental physics concepts such as Einstein's theory of relativity using two next-generation atomic clocks operated in microgravity.

• Aerosol Monitors — to test three different air quality monitors in space to determine which is best suited to protect crew health and ensure mission success.

• Industrial Crystallization Cassette (ADSEP-ICC) to add capabilities to an existing protein crystallization facility, including the ability to process tiny gold particles like the type used in devices that detect cancer and other diseases or in targeted drug delivery systems.

• Rhodium USAFA NIGHT - to examine how tomato plants respond to microgravity and whether a carbon dioxide replacement can reduce how much space-grown plants depend on photosynthesis.

The CRS-32 Dragon (C208) previously flew on the CRS-22, CRS-24, CRS-27 and CRS-30 flights. It will return to Earth with research and cargo after spending about four weeks at the space station.

posted 04-21-2025 03:35 AM               

CRS-32 Cargo Dragon lifts off for space station

SpaceX launched its 32nd cargo mission to the International Space Station early Monday morning (April 21), carrying more than 3 tons of supplies and scientific hardware to the orbiting laboratory for NASA.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the uncrewed Cargo Dragon spacecraft lifted off Monday at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

If all goes according to plan, the capsule will arrive at the space station on Tuesday (April 22) around 8:20 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).

posted 04-22-2025 10:18 AM               

Dragon docks to space station

SpaceX's CRS-32 Dragon spacecraft docked to the space-facing port of the International Space Station's Harmony module on Tuesday (April 22) at 8:40 a.m. EDT, EST (1240 GMT).

posted 05-23-2025 12:23 PM               

Dragon undocks from space station

The CRS-32 Dragon undocked from the zenith, or space-facing port of the Harmony module at the International Space Station following a command from SpaceX ground controllers at 12:05 p.m. EDT (1605 GMT) on Friday (May 23).

The spacecraft will make a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of California at approximately 1:45 a.m. EDT (0545 GMT) on Sunday.

Dragon is carrying back to Earth no-longer needed supplies and the results of scientific experiments conducted by the Expedition 73 crew.

posted 05-26-2025 09:10 AM               

Dragon splashes down off the coast of California

At 1:44 a.m. EDT on Sunday (May 25), the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of California, marking the return of the company’s 32nd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station for NASA.

The spacecraft carried back to Earth about 6,700 pounds of supplies and scientific experiments designed to take advantage of the space station’s microgravity environment after undocking at 12:05 p.m., May 23, from the zenith port of the space station’s Harmony module.

Some of the scientific hardware and samples Dragon returned to Earth included MISSE-20 (Multipurpose International Space Station Experiment), which exposed various materials to space, including radiation shielding and detection materials, solar sails and reflective coatings, ceramic composites for reentry spacecraft studies, and resins for potential use in heat shields. Samples were retrieved on the exterior of the station and can improve knowledge of how these materials respond to ultraviolet radiation, atomic oxygen, charged particles, thermal cycling, and other factors.

Additionally, Astrobee-REACCH (Responsive Engaging Arms for Captive Care and Handling) returned to Earth after successfully demonstrating grasping and relocating capabilities on the space station. The REACCH demonstration used Astrobee robots to capture space objects of different geometries or surface materials using tentacle-like arms and adhesive pads. Testing a way to safely capture and relocate debris and other objects in orbit could help address end-of-life satellite servicing, orbit change maneuvers, and orbital debris removal. These capabilities maximize satellite lifespan and protect satellites and spacecraft in low Earth orbit that provide services to people on Earth.

Books from the Story Time from Space project also returned. Crew members aboard the space station read five science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related children’s books in orbit and videotaped themselves completing science experiments. Video and data collected during the readings and demonstrations were downlinked to Earth and were posted in a video library with accompanying educational materials.

Hardware and data from a one-year technology demonstration called OPTICA (Onboard Programmable Technology for Image Compression and Analysis) also returned to Earth. The OPTICA technology was designed to advance transmission of real-time, ultra-high-resolution hyperspectral imagery from space to Earth, and it provided valuable insights for data compression and processing that could reduce the bandwidth required for communication, lowering the cost of acquiring data from space-based imaging systems without reducing the volume of data. This technology also could improve services, such as disaster response, that rely on Earth observations.