A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the twenty-second Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-22) for NASA to the International Space Station at 1:29 p.m. on 3 June 2021 from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The Cargo Dragon spacecraft separated from Falcon 9’s second stage about twelve minutes after liftoff and autonomously docked to the space station on 5 June.

The Cargo Dragon spacecraft is carrying more than 7,300 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Cargo highlights are new solar panels, the ISS Roll-out Solar Array (iROSA) that are made up of compact panels that roll open like a huge yoga mat. Based on a previous technology demonstration of roll out panels performed on station, these arrays will provide an increase in energy available for research and station activities. Experiments with Bobtail Squid and microscopic Tardigrades (also known as water bears) will study stress on these creatures respectively with possible applications for the human presence in space.

In July, the Cargo Dragon spacecraft will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down in the Atlantic Ocean near the eastern coast of Florida returning 5,300 pounds of experiment samples and cargo from the ISS.