| SpaceX CRS-22 | |||||||
| Names List: | SpX-22 | ||||||
| Mission Type: | ISS resupply | ||||||
| Operator: | SpaceX | ||||||
| Spacecraft Type: | Cargo Dragon | ||||||
| Manufacturer: | SpaceX | ||||||
| Dimensions: | (height) (diameter) | ||||||
| Launch Date: | 3 June 2021, 17:29:15 UTC | ||||||
| Launch Rocket: | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1067.1) | ||||||
| Launch Site: | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A | ||||||
| Landing Date: | 10 July 2021, 03:29 UTC | ||||||
| Landing Site: | Gulf of Mexico | ||||||
| Orbit Reference: | Geocentric orbit | ||||||
| Orbit Regime: | Low Earth orbit | ||||||
| Orbit Inclination: | 51.66° | ||||||
| Docking: |
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| Insignia: | SpaceX CRS-22 Patch.png | ||||||
| Insignia Caption: | SpaceX CRS-22 mission patch | ||||||
| Insignia Size: | 200px | ||||||
| Programme: | Commercial Resupply Services | ||||||
| Previous Mission: | NG-15 | ||||||
| Next Mission: | NG-16 | ||||||
| Programme2: | Cargo Dragon missions | ||||||
| Previous Mission2: | SpaceX CRS-21 | ||||||
| Next Mission2: | SpaceX CRS-23 | ||||||
SpaceX CRS-22, also known as SpX-22, was a Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) that launched at 17:29:15 UTC on 3 June 2021.[1] The mission is contracted by NASA and is flown by SpaceX using a Cargo Dragon 2. This is the second flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2 contract awarded in January 2016.
See main article: SpaceX Dragon 2. SpaceX plans to reuse the Cargo Dragons up to five times. Since it does not support a crew, the Cargo Dragon launches without SuperDraco abort engines, seats, cockpit controls or the life support system required to sustain astronauts in space. Dragon 2 improves on Dragon 1 in several ways, including lessened refurbishment time, leading to shorter periods between flights.
The new Cargo Dragon capsules under the NASA CRS Phase 2 contract splash down under parachutes in the Gulf of Mexico rather than the previous recovery zone in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California under the NASA CRS Phase 1 contract.
T+00:00: Liftoff
T+01:15: Maximum aerodynamic pressure
T+02:30: First stage main engine cutoff (MECO)
T+02:34: Stage separation
T+02:41: Second stage engine start
T+02:48: First stage Boostback Burn
T+05:58: First stage entry burn begins
T+07:22: First stage landing burn
T+07:52: First stage landing on drone ship
T+08:46: Second stage engine cutoff (SECO)
T+11:58: Dragon separation
T+12:35: Dragon nose cone open sequence begins
NASA contracted for the CRS-22 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date of launch, and orbital parameters for the Cargo Dragon. The total mission payload is .
ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA)
See also: Roll Out Solar Array.
First pair of new roll-out solar arrays, namely, 2B and 4B; using XTJ Prime space solar cells, based on design tested at ISS in 2017. They will be delivered to the station in the unpressurized trunk of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon CRS-22 spacecraft. A second pair was delivered to the ISS on CRS-26 in late 2022, followed by another pair on CRS-28 due to be delivered in june 2023.[2] The installation of these new solar arrays requires two spacewalks: one to prepare the worksite with a modification kit, on 16 June 2021, and another to install the new panel, on 20 June 2021.[3]
Additional hardware carried internally includes:
The new experiments arriving at the orbiting laboratory on the SpaceX CRS-22 mission supports science from human health to high-powered computing, and utilizes the space station as a proving ground for new technologies.
Among the investigations arriving inside the Dragon's pressurized capsule will be a variety of research experiments and studies, including:
Two model organism investigations:
NASA Glenn Research Center studies:
Student Spaceflight Experiments Program
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) has five experiments manifested:
ISS United States National Laboratory
The ISS U.S. National Laboratory is sponsoring more than a dozen payloads with education and commercial partners.[4] These include:
One CubeSat is scheduled for deployment on this mission:
Nanoracks CubeSat deployments:
UNOOSA / JAXA KiboCUBE program:[5]
Beginning with returning capsules or lifting bodies under the CRS-2 contract, NASA reports major hardware (failed or expended hardware for diagnostic assessment, refurbishment, repair, or no longer needed) returning from the International Space Station. The SpaceX CRS-22 mission ends on 10 July 2021, this is a two-day delay from the original undocking target of 6 July 2021 as a result of Tropical Storm/Hurricane Elsa causing weather concerns at the splashdown zones,[9] with re-entry into atmosphere of Earth and splash down in the Gulf of Mexico near the western coast of Florida with of return cargo.