WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - NASA has successfully launched its SpaceX 31st commercial resupply mission, new scientific experiments and cargo for the agency to the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying more than 6,000 pounds of supplies to the orbiting laboratory, lifted off at 9:29 p.m. ET on Monday, on the company's Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA said the spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously dock at approximately 10:15 AM ET Tuesday to the forward port of the space station's Harmony module.
The resupply mission will support dozens of research experiments conducted during Expedition 72. 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 include a device to test cold welding of metals in microgravity and an investigation that studies how space impacts different materials.
Hundreds of investigations are being conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory in the areas of biology and biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Such research lays the groundwork for future human exploration through the U.S. space agency's Artemis campaign, which will send astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future expeditions to Mars.
The Dragon spacecraft will depart the orbiting laboratory of the space station in December, and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
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