Overview

• The cargo Dragon lifted off at 2:45 a.m. EDT on Aug. 24 from Cape Canaveral and is tracking a 7:30 a.m. EDT Aug. 25 docking to the Harmony forward port.
• Dragon is carrying more than 5,000 pounds of supplies and research, including 3D metal printing, bioprinted liver tissue, bone-forming stem cells, and medical-implant materials.
• The spacecraft will remain at the station until December, marking SpaceX’s first long-duration cargo Dragon mission planned for roughly five months.
• A trunk-mounted boost kit with an independent propellant system will feed two Draco engines to perform periodic reboosts starting in September, with NASA expecting Dragon to handle the majority of orbit-raising while docked.
• Data from these demonstrations will inform NASA’s planned U.S. Deorbit Vehicle and operational concepts for a controlled ISS end-of-life around 2030 to 2031.