NASA and SpaceX expect to launch their next International Space Station resupply mission on Tuesday, November 5, 2024 (AEDST). The agency says they are targeting a lift-off time of 12.29 p.m.
The launch will be SpaceX’s 31st resupply mission. It will take 6,000 pounds of supplies, equipment, and scientific instruments to the ISS. The Dragon spacecraft will be carried into space by a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center. NASA will have live coverage on its various platforms, including NASA+ and its website.
In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, including the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment, to examine solar wind and how it forms. Dragon also delivers Antarctic moss to observe the combined effects of cosmic radiation and microgravity on plants. Other investigations aboard include a device to test cold welding of metals in microgravity and an investigation that studies how space impacts different materials.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until December, when it will depart the orbiting laboratory and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
