CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Friday, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying roughly 6,500 pounds of supplies and science experiments to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s 34th Commercial Resupply Services mission.
While the launch was originally planned for Tuesday, it was ultimately scrubbed a couple of times before its eventual launch.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station took place at 6:05 p.m. on Friday. It marks the second attempt after the launch was scrubbed on Tuesday due to weather.
Because the Falcon 9’s first stage booster is set to land at Landing Zone 40 at Cape Canaveral, residents along Florida’s Space Coast should expect a sonic boom as the booster returns to Earth shortly after launch.
There is a chance Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Polk, St. Lucie, Volusia and Okeechobee counties may hear a boom, as well.
The Dragon spacecraft flying this mission previously flew five ISS resupply missions. The Falcon 9 booster also has prior flight experience, having previously launched the KF-01, IMAP, NROL-77, GPS III-9 missions, along with one Starlink mission.
After an approximately 38-hour flight, Dragon is expected to autonomously dock to the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module on Thursday at around 7:35 a.m.
Among the highlights of this mission’s science payload are five new experiments. ODYSSEY will examine how well Earth-based simulators recreate microgravity conditions by studying bacterial behavior in space. STORIE will monitor charged particles in Earth’s orbit that respond to space weather and can impact power grids and satellites.
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The Laplace experiment will study dust particle movement and collisions in microgravity, with researchers hoping to better understand how planets form. Green Bone will observe bone cell growth on a wood-based scaffold in space, with potential applications for treating conditions like osteoporosis. SPARK will study how red blood cells and the spleen respond to spaceflight to help protect astronaut health on long-duration missions.
Dragon is expected to remain docked to the station for about a month before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean in mid-June. The spacecraft will return an ocular imaging device, a cabin air filtration sorbent bed, a waste system separator pump, and a pressure management device. NASA’s Advanced Plant Habitat — which supported long-duration plant biology research — will also return to Earth for eventual museum display.