New Canadian health technology heads to the International Space Station
On , SpaceX's unpiloted cargo ship Dragon will head to the International Space Station after launching from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
Three days later, European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst and NASA's Serena Auñón-Chancellor will use Canadarm2 to capture the vehicle and berth it to the Station.
Astronauts on board the orbiting laboratory will unpack Dragon's pressurized cargo, which includes two Canadian elements:
- Bio-Monitor, the Canadian Space Agency's smart shirt system, designed to record astronauts' vital signs without interfering with their daily activities.
- A rubber exercise band for Vascular Echo, a Canadian study that examines astronauts' blood vessels using blood tests and ultrasound technology.
In the days that follow Dragon's arrival, robotics controllers on the ground will use Dextre, the Station's two-armed robot, to unload the ship's trunk and extract a pair of unpressurized payloads.
Dragon will remain berthed to the Station until mid-January, when it returns to Earth carrying samples for Canadian experiment MARROW that tracks space-related changes in bone marrow and blood cells.
Coverage of Dragon's launch will be available on NASA TV on , beginning at 12:45 p.m. ET.
Canadarm2's "cosmic catch" of the vehicle will also be broadcast on , beginning at 4:30 a.m. ET.