NASA and SpaceX are targeting 6:15 p.m. AEST, Monday, April 21, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This is the 32nd SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the agency’s orbiting laboratory.
Filled with more than 6,400 pounds of supplies, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Live launch coverage will begin at 5:55 p.m. on NASA+.
Along with food and essential equipment for the crew, Dragon is delivering a variety of science experiments, including a demonstration of refined maneuvers for free-floating robots. Dragon also carries an enhanced air quality monitoring system that could protect crew members on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, and two atomic clocks to examine fundamental physics concepts such as relativity and test worldwide synchronisation of precision timepieces.
NASA’s coverage of Dragon’s arrival at the International Space Station will begin at 8:45 p.m. AEST Tuesday, April 22, on NASA+. The spacecraft will dock autonomously to the zenith port of the space station’s Harmony module.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until May, when it will depart and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.
