It carried the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar and the Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3) experiment as external payloads.

In February 2016, it was announced that NASA had awarded a contract extension to SpaceX for five additional CRS missions (CRS-16 to CRS-20).

Shortly after the landing, Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, stated the booster appeared to be undamaged and was being recovered.

[1] NASA had contracted for the CRS-16 mission from SpaceX and therefore determined the primary payload, date/time of launch, and orbital parameters for the Dragon space capsule.

This included 1,598 kg (3,523 lb) of pressurised cargo with packaging bound for the International Space Station, and 975 kg (2,150 lb) of unpressurised cargo composed of two external station experiments: the Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) lidar and the Robotic Refueling Mission 3.