SpaceX CRS-20, also known as SpX-20, was a

Commercial Resupply Services Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first phase of CRS contracts (CRS-1) were sign ...

mission to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

(ISS) launched on 7 March 2020. The mission was contracted by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

and flown by

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

. It was the final flight of Dragon 1 and concluded the NASA

(CRS-1) contract extension. The second contract (CRS-2) was awarded in January 2016 and began with SpaceX CRS-21 in December 2020 using Cargo Dragon.

History

In February 2016, it was announced that

had awarded a contract extension to SpaceX for five additional CRS missions ( CRS-16 to CRS-20). A June 2016 NASA OIG report indicated the mission was manifested for 2019, but by June 2019 the launch had been pushed back to March 2020. As the final flight of Dragon 1, CRS-20 concluded NASA's initial

contract. Across the contract's 19 successful missions, Dragon carried 43,000 kg (94,000 pounds) of cargo to the International Space Station, and returned about 33,000 kg (74,000 pounds) of equipment and specimens to

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

Mission

CRS-20 utilized Dragon capsule C112, which previously flew to the ISS on CRS-10 and CRS-16. It was launched aboard Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at 4:50 UTC on 7 March 2020. The first stage booster, B1059.2, previously supported the CRS-19 mission. Dragon arrived at the ISS on 9 March 2020 at 10:25 UTC and was captured by the station's

robotic arm A robotic arm is a type of mechanical arm, usually programmable, with similar functions to a human arm; the arm may be the sum total of the mechanism or may be part of a more complex robot. The links of such a manipulator are connected by join ...

, marking the last capture of a Dragon spacecraft. Cargo Dragon, which replaced Dragon 1, docks directly with the space station.

Payload

NASA contracted for the CRS-20 mission from SpaceX and therefore determined the primary payload, date of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon CRS. The CRS-20 mission carried 1977 kg of cargo to ISS. * Science investigations: 960 kg * Vehicle hardware: 219 kg * Crew supplies: 273 kg * Spacewalk equipment: 56 kg * Computer resources: 1 kg * Unpressurized payloads: Bartolomeo Platform 468 kg Bartolomeo (named for the younger brother of explorer

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

), is an external payload platform developed by

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

and operated by the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

. Bartolomeo provides power and data transmission for up to 12 payload slots and is the first external commercial research platform to be installed on the ISS. The Bartolomeo platform was removed from Dragon's trunk section and installed outside ISS on 2 April 2020. A spacewalk to route power and communication wiring to the Bartolomeo facility for activation has been postponed. The EVA was originally planned in mid-April 2020, but the space station will not be at full staffing level of six crew members until autumn 2020. When activated, Columbus will have a new outdoor deck to host a range of materials science, Earth observation and space science instruments. Interoperable Radio System (IORS) is the foundation element of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) next-generation radio system aboard the ISS. A total of 4 flight units are being built by the ARISS hardware team. The first IORS radio system launched aboard CRS-20 and was installed in the Columbus module by Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy on 2 September 2020. System activation was first observed at 01:02 UTC on 2 September 2020 by ARISS control station and amateur radio ground operators. Initial operation of the new radio system began as an FM cross band repeater. A second IORS flight unit is expected to be launched on a later flight for installation in the Zvezda module. Dragon was also packed with spare parts and replacement hardware for the space station's research facilities and life support systems. The components included upgraded hardware for the station's

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

processing system, which converts human waste into drinking water. The new components allow NASA teams to test out modifications designed to extend the lifetime of the urine processing system's distillation assembly ahead of future missions to the Moon and Mars, which will require longer-lasting life support equipment.

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