Four Canadian CubeSats head to the International Space Station
Carrying thousands of kilograms of equipment, SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship flies towards the International Space Station, leaving behind a trail of light in the sky. (Credit: SpaceX)
On , SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On , the vehicle docked to the International Space Station autonomously, delivering vital supplies to Station crew.
Among other things, Dragon contained science equipment for Canadian experiment Vascular Aging, which studies the effects of weightlessness on astronauts' blood vessels and hearts.
Dragon also carried four Canadian CubeSat Project CubeSats, designed and built by Canadian students:
- AuroraSat: Aurora Research Institute of Aurora College, Northwest Territories
- Ex-Alta 2: University of Alberta, Alberta
- NEUDOSE: McMaster University, Ontario
- YukonSat: Yukon University, Yukon
These miniature satellites will soon be deployed into space. AuroraSat, Ex‑Alta 2 and YukonSat will orbit Earth as a constellation under the name of Northern SPIRIT.