SpaceX CRS-35 Dragon docks at the ISS with final solar arrays and science

SpaceX's uncrewed CRS-35 cargo Dragon is on the International Space Station. According to NASA's station blog, the spacecraft docked at 11 a.m. EDT (15:00 GMT) on Thursday, 15 October, to the space-facing port of the Harmony module.

What arrived

NASA says Dragon brought more than 6,300 pounds of food, supplies and equipment for the Expedition 75 crew. The headline hardware is the final pair of ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) — flexible panels that roll open in orbit and finish the station's power upgrade. Earlier NASA coverage for this flight also listed science such as artificial-retina hardware, 3D heart-tissue models, microgravity glass studies and brain organoids aimed at neurodegenerative disease research.

The trip

CRS-35 lifted off on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral on 13 October at 6:33 a.m. EDT. After about two days chasing the station, Dragon completed an autonomous docking. The capsule is expected to stay attached into mid-November, then return research samples and cargo to a splashdown off California.

Why it matters

Completing the iROSA set boosts the station's electrical capacity for research and for the long plan toward a controlled end-of-life deorbit. For the crew, the arrival is also fresh food and the spare parts that keep a 25-year-old laboratory flying.