GEDI launched on SpaceX-16 on December 5th, 2018, from Cape Canaveral. GEDI was then extracted from the Dragon capsule’s trunk by the ISS’s robotic arms and passed along the length of the space station to the Japanese Experiment Module – Exposed Facility (JEM-EF), where it was attached to power, coolant and communications systems. After a three month on-orbit checkout, GEDI started collecting scientific data in operational mode on March 25th, 2019. At the end of its mission, GEDI will be disconnected from the JEM-EF and returned to another Dragon capsule trunk for disposal.

SpaceX Falcon launch

SpaceX Dragon capsule docked with the ISS. Canadarm is visible to the right of the capsule.