SpaceX set to launch resupply mission to the International Space Station
Launch of a SpaceX Dragon resupply spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Credit: NASA/Tony Gray/Tim Powers/Tim Terry)
On , SpaceX's Dragon cargo ship will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The launch will mark the start of the 25th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for the Dragon capsule.
Canadian robotics, Canadarm2 and Dextre, will be lending a hand to unload unpressurized cargo, moving the Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT), an imaging spectroscopy technology, onto the Station. EMIT is designed to map the mineral composition of Earth's dust in arid regions, from the unique vantage point of the ISS.
About five weeks later, Dragon will return with Canadian cargo and equipment, including samples for heart health study Vascular Aging. The Canadian experiment is looking at increased stiffness in astronauts' arteries and the development of insulin resistance, a precursor of Type 2 diabetes.
Coverage of the launch will be broadcast on NASA TV on starting at 8:15 pm ET (launch scheduled for 8:44 pm ET).
Dragon's rendezvous and autonomous docking with the orbiting laboratory will also be broadcast on beginning at 10:00 am ET (docking scheduled for 11:20 am ET).