A GITAI robot completes a technical demonstration in an ISS mock-up facility. Photo: GITAI

A SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply spacecraft docked with the International Space Station on Monday, carrying more than 4,800 pounds of science experiments, crew supplies, and spacecraft hardware. The ISS confirmed contact and capture at 10:30 a.m. ET. 

The cargo Dragon was launched on SpaceX’s 23rd Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission for NASA at 3:14 a.m. ET on Sunday on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

The Dragon delivered a robotic arm developed by Japanese company GITAI. This robot will conduct demonstrations of general purpose tasks in the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock ISS module. GITAI is working to develop robots that can perform tasks in space and the demonstrations that this robotic arm will conduct will be a key development for the company. 

[Read more about GITAI in the November 2020 edition of Via Satellite.]

In addition, the Dragon carried experiments that will research issues including the effects of microgravity and space radiation on the growth of bone tissue; vision problems known as Space-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS); and stress in plant growth in microgravity conditions.