SpaceX Dragon Will Deliver The 24th NASA Cargo Mission To The Space Station –Watch It Live!

SpaceX Dragon will conduct the 24^th NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-24) mission on Tuesday, December 21, that will deliver over 6,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). It will be the company’s final rocket launch of 2021, to end the year with a record-breaking launch manifest of 31 launches. A Falcon 9 rocket will launch the CRS-24 Dragon capsule 5:06 a.m. EST. from Launch Complex-39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. If for any reason the launch is delayed, a backup launch opportunity is scheduled for Wednesday, December 22 at 4:43 a.m. EST. “Falcon 9 and Dragon vertical at Launch Complex 39A in Florida; weather forecast is 30% favorable for Tuesday’s targeted liftoff of SpaceX’s 24^th resupply mission to the Space Station,” the company announced. The astronauts working at the Space Station are expected to receive some presents and goodies to celebrate the holidays in orbit, as well as equipment to conduct scientific research. 

Falcon 9 and Dragon vertical at Launch Complex 39A in Florida; weather forecast is 30% favorable for Tuesday’s targeted liftoff of SpaceX’s 24th resupply mission to the @Space_Station pic.twitter.com/J9KaB6atq8

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 20, 2021

Dragon will autonomously dock to the space station on Wednesday, December 22 at approximately 4:38 a.m. EST. “Expedition 66 Flight Engineers Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn of NASA will be on duty monitoring the Cargo Dragon’s automated docking to the Harmony module’s space-facing port,” NASA representatives shared, “Dragon is delivering about 6,500 pounds crew supplies and new science experiments including a cancer treatment study and a handheld bioprinter.” The ‘Bioprint First Aid’ gun, is a portable handheld device by the German Space Agency, that uses a patient’s own skin cells to create a 3D printed ‘tissue-forming patch’ bandage right over open wounds that enables a much faster healing process. NASA says that using bioprinting to heal wounds will be useful for future human expeditions to the Moon and Mars. Learn more about some of the experiments that will be delivered by SpaceX Dragon CRS-24 mission in the Tweet linked below.

Dec. 21: SpaceX's Dragon #CRS24 spacecraft is set to launch, sending @ISS_Research and supplies to the @Space_Station, including a skin bioprinter and student projects from our SPOCS challenge.

🚀 Liftoff is targeted for 5:07am ET (10:07 UTC). Watch: https://t.co/swhd0pikhi pic.twitter.com/1Z1iRAh8CN

— NASA (@NASA) December 21, 2021

Testing the Bioprint First Aid device in zero gravity environment will enable scientists to review the bioprinter’s performance and improve the technology. To use the device for long duration missions medical scientists plan to extract an individual’s cells before a spaceflight so that the Bioprinter device can provide a customized treatment to quickly treat an injury. “On human space exploration missions, skin injuries need to be treated quickly and effectively,” says project manager Michael Becker from the German Space Agency. “Mobile bioprinting could significantly accelerate the healing process. The personalized and individual bioprinting-based wound treatment could have a great benefit and is an important step for further personalized medicine in space and on Earth.” You can watch a Live broadcast of the mission beginning at 4:45 a.m. on Tuesday via NASA TV, video linked below.

All Featured Images Source: SpaceX & NASA