Rodent Research – Spaceflight Now

French wine, live rodents among 2 tons of cargo returned from space station

January 14, 2021 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule parachuted to an on-target splashdown Wednesday night west of Tampa, returning more than two tons of experiment specimens from the International Space Station, including live rodents and a dozen bottles of space-aged French wine.

Cargo Dragon heads for splashdown off Florida’s west coast

January 12, 2021 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s first upgraded Cargo Dragon spaceship departed the International Space Station Tuesday morning with more than 4,400 pounds of research specimens and other equipment, heading for splashdown Wednesday night in the Gulf of Mexico off the west coast of Florida.

Cargo Dragon return delayed by poor weather

January 11, 2021 Stephen Clark

Poor weather in the offshore recovery zone east of Florida forced SpaceX and NASA to delay the departure of an upgraded Cargo Dragon spaceship from International Space Station Monday. The capsule is bringing home several tons of research equipment, specimens, and other equipment.

Photos: SpaceX cargo capsule returns to Southern California after space station mission

April 12, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX technicians offloaded a Dragon cargo capsule from its recovery ship Thursday after returning the thrice-flown supply freighter to the Port of Los Angeles, marking the final planned return of a Dragon spacecraft to the West Coast.

With successful splashdown, SpaceX retires first version of Dragon spacecraft

April 7, 2020 Stephen Clark

For the final time, a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule was released from the International Space Station’s robotic arm Tuesday and splashed down hours later in Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles. Beginning later this year, SpaceX will fly upgraded Dragon freighters that will dock automatically with the space station and parachute into the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida.

Live coverage: Dragon supply ship departs space station

April 7, 2020 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Dragon cargo freighter departed the International Space Station Tuesday for return to Earth, wrapping up the 20th and final visit to the orbiting research complex for the current version of SpaceX’s supply ship before an upgraded Dragon starts launching later this year. Release from the space station’s robotic arm occurred at 9:06 a.m. EDT (1306 GMT), followed by splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT).

SpaceX resupply mission reaches International Space Station

December 8, 2019 Stephen Clark

A commercial Dragon supply ship loaded with genetically-enhanced mice, a beer brewing experiment, a CubeSat developed by Mexican students and other scientific research payloads arrived at the International Space Station Sunday.

Dragon soars on research and resupply flight to International Space Station

December 5, 2019 Stephen Clark

A commercial Dragon supply freighter built and owned by SpaceX rocketed into a clear blue sky over Florida’s Space Coast Thursday with a menagerie of research experiments and holiday surprises heading for the International Space Station.

Photos: Falcon 9 in the starting blocks for space station resupply run

December 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

Ready for a resupply run to the International Space Station, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was raised vertical at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad Wednesday ahead of a planned liftoff with more than 5,700 pounds of science experiments and crew supplies.

Live coverage: Dragon cargo capsule arrives at space station

December 4, 2019 Stephen Clark

A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station Sunday with more than 5,700 pounds of supplies and experiments. The supply ship was captured by the station’s Canadian-built robotic arm at 5:05 a.m. EST (1005 GMT).