SpaceX CRS-28, also known as SpX-28, is a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

(ISS) scheduled to be launched in January 2023. The mission is contracted by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

and will be flown by

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and a satellite communications corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the stated goal of ...

using a Cargo Dragon. This will be the seventh flight for SpaceX under NASA's CRS Phase 2.

Cargo Dragon

SpaceX plans to reuse the Cargo Dragons up to five times. The Cargo Dragon will launch without

SuperDraco SuperDraco is a hypergolic propellant rocket engine designed and built by SpaceX. It is part of the SpaceX Draco family of rocket engines. A redundant array of eight SuperDraco engines provides fault-tolerant propulsion for use as a launch escap ...

abort engines, without seats, cockpit controls and the life support system required to sustain astronauts in space.

Dragon 2 Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as Ins ...

improves on Dragon 1 in several ways, including lessened refurbishment time, leading to shorter periods between flights. The new Cargo Dragon capsules under the NASA CRS Phase 2 contract will land east of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the Atlantic Ocean.

Payload

NASA contracted for the CRS-28 mission from SpaceX and therefore determines the primary payload, date of launch, and

orbital parameters Orbital elements are the parameters required to uniquely identify a specific orbit. In celestial mechanics these elements are considered in two-body systems using a Kepler orbit. There are many different ways to mathematically describe the same ...

for the Cargo Dragon. ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSA) Third pair of new solar arrays using XTJ Prime space solar cells. They will be delivered to the station in the unpressurized trunk of the SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft. The installation of these new solar arrays will require two spacewalks: one to prepare the worksite with a modification kit and another to install the new panel.

Research

The new experiments arriving at the orbiting laboratory will inspire future scientists and explorers, and provide valuable insight for researchers. NASA Glenn Research Center studies:

CubeSats

CubeSats A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...

planned for this mission: '
Northern SPIRIT
'' Three CubeSat satellites were built in part of the Northern Space Program for Innovative Research and Integrated Training (Northern SPIRIT). These CubeSats were constructed as a collaboration between

Yukon University Yukon University (formerly Yukon College) is a public university in the Canadian territory of Yukon. The university main campus is based in Whitehorse, although the institution also operates 12 campuses throughout the territory. The university c ...

, Aurora Research Institute in the Northwest Territories, and the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

. This initiative is supported by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) as a part of th
Canadian CubeSat Project (CCP)
In addition to what's below, all three satellites have a primary goal of gathering

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...

field data of the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays an ...

to study small scale field-aligned currents.
Ex-Alta 2
A 3U CubeSat built by students from the University of Alberta's student organizatio
AlbertaSat
Ex-Alta 2's primary mission is to obtain scientific data for

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

research and prevention. Additionally, Ex-Alta 2 was designed to promote the long-term goal of a fully open-sourced cube satellite, and the development of the Albertan commercial space industry.
AuroraSAT
an
YukonSat
2U CubeSats built by students from the Aurora Research Institute and Yukon university in collaboration with the University of Alberta. One of the two primary missions is th
Northern Images Mission
which will display art on a small screen on the satellite, and then take images of this art from space with the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

in the background. Children across

Northern Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territor ...

will have the opportunity to have their artwork featured. The Northern Voices Mission will transmit and broadcast recordings of Northern Canadian stories and perspectives in

amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency communic ...

bands across the world.

References

{{Uncrewed ISS flights SpaceX Dragon 2 SpaceX payloads contracted by NASA Supply vehicles for the International Space Station 2023 in spaceflight 2023 in the United States

Cargo Dragon

Payload

Research

See also

References