SpaceX CRS-21

SpaceX plans to reuse the Cargo Dragons up to five times. The new Cargo Dragon spacecraft can haul about 20% more cargo volume than previous Dragon supply ships. It was launched without seats, cockpit controls, the life support system required to sustain astronauts in space and SuperDraco abort engines.[9][10] This newer design provides several benefits, including a faster process to recover, refurbish and re-fly versus the earlier Dragon CRS design used for ISS cargo missions.[11]

While CRS-21 was for a standard 30 days mission, the most recent Flight Planning Integration Panel (FPIP) document indicates that beginning with CRS-23, SpaceX cargo missions will begin to stretch out to 60 days and beyond.[12] Sarah Walker, director of Dragon mission management at SpaceX, said "the new Cargo Dragon can stay at the space station for up to 75 days, more than twice as long as the first-generation Dragon spacecraft".[13]

With this mission, this was the first time that two Dragon capsules was docked at the ISS at the same time.

Beginning with the CRS-21 mission, the new Dragon Cargo capsules splash down under parachutes off the coast of Florida in either the Atlantic Ocean or Gulf of Mexico, rather than the previous recovery zone in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California.[14] This NASA preference was added to CRS-2 awards.[10][11]

NASA contracted for the CRS-21 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date of launch, and orbital parameters for the Cargo Dragon. The CRS-21 mission carries 2,972 kg (6,552 lb) of cargo to ISS.[15][16][17]

• Science investigations: 953 kg (2,101 lb)
• Vehicle hardware: 317 kg (699 lb)
• Crew supplies: 364 kg (802 lb)
• Spacewalk equipment: 120 kg (260 lb)
• Computer resources: 46 kg (101 lb)
• Russian hardware: 24 kg (53 lb)
• External payload (Nanoracks Bishop Airlock): 1,090 kg (2,400 lb)

Nanoracks technicians work on the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock module inside the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 29 September 2020. Nanoracks staff prepped Bishop for its flight to the ISS on SpaceX CRS-21. The module is the first commercially funded airlock for the space station, which will provide payload hosting, robotics testing, satellite deployment, serve as an outside toolbox for station crew spacewalks, and more.

Nanoracks Bishop Airlock, formerly known as Bishop Airlock Module, is a small commercial airlock module attached to the Tranquility module of the ISS.[18][19] The Nanoracks Bishop Airlock will offer five times the satellite deployment volume than current opportunities (Japanese Kibō module airlock) available today. Nanoracks is the prime contractor, with Thales Alenia Space manufacturing the pressurized shell and Boeing providing the berthing mechanism.[20] It will be the second commercial module of the ISS after the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which was attached to the ISS in April 2016 and is expected to stay at the ISS until at least 2028. It will add another airlock to the ISS's plethora of airlocks. It was under construction beginning in 2015, and is currently on the Dragon docked to ISS.

BioAsteroid is an experiment designed to test the infrastructure and tools needed for asteroid, lunar, and martian rock mining. It will mine basalt from those bodies for exploration when humans eventually land on them.

Hemocue is a test of the system for white blood cell testing on the Moon and Mars. The systems were developed under Earth's gravity, and still need to be tested in zero-g's.

The Brain Organoid experiment is a continuation of the first Brain Organoid experiment. Its goal is to validate the first round of experiments and to continue the research recorded during those first tests. The program studies the early developed human brain, its movements in microgravity, and can help address and create better models of neurodegenerative disorders.

Cardinal Heart is a continuation of a previous experiment. This experiment will study cardiomyocytes in human heart tissue and its reaction to a zero-g environment. NASA Astronaut Kate Rubins was present for the experiment on station a few years ago, and she said that, paraphrased, few things on station make her gasp, but this is one thing that does.

Subsa-Brains studies the effects of micrometeorites and space junk and the damage they can cause, as well as the process to repair the tissue, called brazing, and if it still works in a zero-gravity environment.

Three-Dimensional Microbial Monitoring (3DMM) is a project that aims to construct a three-dimensional map of bacteria and metabolites that are present at various locations throughout the ISS, and determine how the spaceflight environment affects the various species identified.

Monoclonal Crystal Research in Microgravity (MCRM) is a protein crystallization experiment by the American pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb. NASA astronauts will study the crystallization of monoclonal antibodies in space, with the aim of improving drug formulation and delivery for patients on Earth. Monoclonal antibodies are lab-created proteins designed to interact with specific targets, called antigens. Monoclonal antibodies are used in the treatment of numerous diseases, including cancer.[21]

Rodent Research-23 (RR-23), will study the effects of spaceflight on the eyes, specifically on the structure and function of the arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels that are needed to maintain vision.

The CRS-21 pressurized capsule carries a variety of other research including studies on how space conditions affect the interaction between microbes and minerals.[19]

Before the heading for re-entry, the automated cargo capsule undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on 12 January 2021 at 14:05 UTC. The new Dragon design can automatically dock and undock at the station, while the first-generation Dragon cargo freighters were grappled by the station's robotic arm. The undocking and splashdown marked the first return of a Cargo Dragon spacecraft, and wrapped up the first flight of SpaceX Dragon 2 supply spacecraft derived from the Crew Dragon spacecraft. SpaceX recovery teams were on standby for the parachute-assisted splashdown on 14 January 2021 at 01:26 UTC in the Gulf of Mexico, at west of Tampa, Florida. The Dragon returned to Earth with 2,002 kg (4,414 lb) of cargo, according to NASA.[4]

• Uncrewed spaceflights to the International Space Station

• NASA
• SpaceX official page for the Dragon spacecraft
• Nanoracks Bishop Airlock
• GNSS Remote Sensing aboard the ISS