SpaceX cargo Dragon reaches space station with last set of new solar arrays

A SpaceX Cargo Dragon docked with the International Space Station on Thursday morning, Oct. 15, two days after lifting off from Florida, NASA said.

The spacecraft attached to the space-facing port of the station's Harmony module at 10:27 a.m. EDT, according to NASA. Space.com reported the capsule made a roughly 51-hour chase to catch the orbiting lab.

The mission at a glance

• Mission: SpaceX CRS-35, the company's 35th commercial resupply run for NASA
• Launch: Oct. 13, 6:33 a.m. EDT, Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (NASA)
• Cargo: More than 6,300 pounds for the Expedition 75 crew
• Booster: First stage B1096, on its eighth flight, landed near the pad, Spaceflight Now reported
• Departure: Scheduled for mid-November, with splashdown off California (NASA)

Power upgrade wraps up

Dragon's unpressurized trunk carried the last set of Roll-Out Solar Arrays, known as IROSAs, which NASA says will be installed later this fall. Spaceflight Now described them as the fourth and final pair bound for the station; astronauts will mount them during a series of spacewalks.

Inside the capsule, NASA listed hardware for making artificial retinas in microgravity, 3D heart tissue models for drug testing, brain organoids for neurodegenerative disease research, and materials to study how a new type of glass forms in space. Spaceflight Now counted equipment for more than 40 studies.

Space.com noted the arrival also brought spare parts for the Canadarm2 robotic arm, toilet components and a birthday surprise for NASA astronaut Anil Menon, who turned 50 that day.