While the utmost precautions are taken to reduce the potential for collisions with the ISS, impacts with tiny objects do occur. The safety of astronauts on board the orbiting laboratory remains the top priority of all Station partners. NASA has a long-standing set of guidelines to ensure the safety of Station crew. The threat of collisions is taken very seriously. A number of tiny objects-ranging from rock or dust particles to flecks of paint from satellites-are also too small to be monitored. Over 23,000 objects the size of a softball or larger are tracked 24/7 to detect potential collisions with satellites and the International Space Station ( ISS). Space can be a harsh and unforgiving environment for the robots and humans that explore it: the hazards are many, from massive temperature swings to radiation and orbital debris. Rendezvous and docking will also be broadcast on June 5, starting at 3:30 a.m. Live coverage of Dragon's launch will be available on NASA TV on June 3, beginning at 12:30 p.m. On its cruise back to Earth about a month later, Dragon will return samples for Vascular Aging and the final samples for Vascular Echo, which wrapped up on-orbit data collection in April. ![]() Once Canadarm2 extracts the payload, astronauts will perform spacewalks later in June to install the new hardware. In its unpressurized trunk, Dragon will also carry a pair of roll-out solar arrays, flexible solar panels that will be mounted on some of the Station's existing arrays to augment the ISS's power supply. The gear will be used for ongoing Canadian study Vascular Aging, which takes a closer look at issues known to pose risks to astronauts' health, like radiation and insulin resistance, a precursor of Type 2 diabetes.
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