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SpaceX CRS-35 Dragon docks with the space station, bringing science and the last roll-out solar arrays

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The SpaceX CRS-35 Dragon cargo spacecraft docked with the International Space Station at 10:27 am EDT on Thursday, 15 October 2026 (7:57 pm IST), NASA said. The uncrewed cargo capsule, launched earlier in the week on a Falcon 9 from Florida, carried more than 6,300 pounds of science, supplies and the final pair of roll-out solar arrays for the station.

SpaceX CRS-35: Roll-out solar arrays on the International Space Station (NASA file photo)
Roll-out solar arrays on the International Space Station (NASA file photo) Photo: NASA (public domain).

How the SpaceX CRS-35 crew got to work

Dragon docked automatically to the space-facing port of the Harmony module. NASA flight engineer Anil Menon then ran pressure and leak checks, opened the hatch and entered, followed by NASA’s Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney and Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency, NASA’s station blog said. The four quickly began moving science samples from portable freezers and incubators into the station’s racks. New experiments will explore making artificial retinas and growing heart tissue in weightlessness, growing protein crystals to develop more precise cancer treatments and studying how plants respond to microgravity. Space.com also reported the docking and the cargo load.

Key Facts

  • Docking: 15 Oct 2026, 10:27 am EDT (7:57 pm IST)
  • Cargo: 6,300+ pounds
  • Arrays: final pair of roll-out solar arrays; all eight add 160+ kW
  • Spacewalks planned: 29 Oct and 5 Nov
  • Spacecraft at station: 5

Roll-out solar arrays and two spacewalks

The two arrays travel in Dragon’s unpressurised trunk. Engineers on the ground will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to pull them out and stow them on the station’s truss, and Menon and Kutryk will install them on spacewalks planned for 29 October and 5 November. NASA says the arrays launch rolled up like a yoga mat and unfurl after installation. The design reduces mass and volume at launch and uses an autonomous, self-deploying system that lowers risk during rollout. They are about half the size of the original arrays, yet NASA says they can produce about 28 kilowatts of additional power. Six were installed between 2021 and 2023, and with these last two, the eight arrays will add more than 160 kW for research and operations. TrendDesh previewed the spacewalks on 15 October.

Five spaceships at the International Space Station

With Dragon’s arrival, five spacecraft are attached to the station: the SpaceX CRS-35 and Crew-13 Dragons, the Soyuz MS-29 crew ship, and the Progress 95 and 96 cargo ships, NASA said. The Expedition 75 crew also includes station commander Pyotr Dubrov and flight engineer Anna Kikina of Roscosmos, who have just wrapped up a weeklong study, NASA said. The arrays were built by Redwire under a contract with Boeing. NASA says the upgraded power system supports science in low Earth orbit and helps test technology for missions further into the solar system. The arrays were first tested in a 2017 technology demonstration aboard the station.

Why It Matters: The extra power supports hundreds of experiments on the station, and Indian-origin astronaut Anil Menon will help install the arrays.

Also on TrendDesh: Anil Menon spacewalk: NASA to preview the last two ISS solar array installs on 20 October · Artemis III update: NASA to brief on its Moon timeline and next year's test flight on 23 October

Source: NASA Space Station blog · NASA (roll-out solar arrays) · Space.com

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