SpaceX brings docking port to ISS after successful launch

SpaceX has launched a Dragon capsule with the goal of bringing a Docking Adapter to the International Space Station. Part of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle has successfully landed back on Earth so that SpaceX can use it again.

The Dragon capsule containing 2,267 kilograms of cargo for the International Space Station will arrive at its destination on Wednesday. Under the payload is the International Docking Adapter: the new connection between the ISS and space capsules docking at the station.

The adapter is equipped with lasers and sensors, with which the ISS and spacecraft can communicate digitally with each other about, among other things, the remaining distance and deviations. The adapter measures 1.1 meters high and 1.6 meters wide, with a total diameter of 2.4 meters if the outer systems are included. The dimensions set the standard for future spacecraft that want to dock at the ISS.

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, among others, can connect to it to transfer astronauts. A previous attempt by SpaceX to bring the adapter to the ISS failed. The rocket exploded last year. This time, the current load also includes a DNA sequencer, which astronauts can use to conduct research on cells on board.

It is the second time that part of the Falcon 9 two-stage rocket has successfully returned to the Earth’s surface and relatively unscathed, having succeeded three times before on a sea platform. It is the seventh launch for SpaceX this year. There were six company launches last year and in 2014.