December 6th, local time, according to foreign media reports, SpaceX successfully put the new Dragon spacecraft 2 into orbit using the Falcon 9 rocket.
According to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the company has signed a commercial supply service contract with NASA, which will deliver supplies to the International Space Station and the drugs and supplies needed for the space station for various biological research and experiments.
It is understood that Dragon Ship 2 has a 50% payload increase compared with the old version and can automatically dock with the space station. This launch is also the first cargo mission of Dragon 2.
Foreign media pointed out that the mission will bring the necessary supplies to the space station and astronauts, and will also bring several experimental equipment to the International Space Station.
On the International Space Station, some experiments will be carried out using the biological research drugs this time: such as simulating human body tissue or brain tissues to record human body response data under microgravity; helping to determine whether microorganisms such as fungi can extract valuable elements such as rare earth metals from the surface or inside of asteroids for geoengineering.
Industry production and manufacturing or supply of future space stations or planetary bases, etc.
Charles Cockell, a professor at the Center for Astrobiology of the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, said: “We will study whether these microorganisms can help us obtain industrial elements from the surface and interior of asteroids.”
According to the introduction, Dragon 2 will dock with international space on Monday night U.S. time. Docking with the Dragon spacecraft is a brand-new international adaptation interface, which is specially designed for independent docking.
