International Space Station Receives Last SpaceX Dragon 1 Refueling Mission

SpaceX's Dragon 1 capsule is now fulfilling the International Space Station's (ISS) latest commercial refueling mission. The ship developed by the company led by Elon Musk will enter the renovation from April this year, when the new and improved Dragon 2 takes over.

On March 6, Dragon 1 continued aboard the Falcon 9 rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida, for the 20th and final mission of the CRS-1 (Commercial Resupply Services) contract with NASA. After a successful launch, the capsule arrived three days later ISS.

The Canadarm2 robotic arm commanded by astronaut Jessica Meir helped dock Dragon 1 to unload an order with more than 2 tons of equipment for new scientific experiments. According to NASA, the next ISS refueling missions carried out with Dragon 2 will not need the help of Canadarm2, as the new capsule is capable of autonomously coupling ISS.

Also in December 2019, ISS received a special order with equipment to start new scientific research. Among the nearly three tons of materials received was RiTS, or Robotic Storage Tool Storage. The hotel for robots has the function of protecting automats that are outside the ISS from elements that could compromise their missions.

It is recalled that the debut mission of the Dragon 1 capsule dates back to 2012, being the first private spaceship to refuel the ISS. After a failed attempt, the launch was successfully carried out in May of that year. Since then, SpaceX has delivered more than 43,000 kilograms of supplies, equipment and materials for scientific experiments to the various teams that have passed through the station.