Nov. 4 (UPI) — SpaceX launched a rocket loaded with 6,000 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station on Monday night from the Florida coast.
The Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center at 9:29 p.m. EST and is expected to arrive at the orbiting laboratory at 10:15 a.m. EST Tuesday.
Liftoff of Dragon’s 31st Commercial Resupply Services mission to the @Space_Station! pic.twitter.com/MPRoutKS3t— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 5, 2024
The robot Dragon space capsule will dock with the ISS full of food, supplies and equipment for the current crew, as well as an instrument to examine solar winds and how they form.
“Dragon also delivers Antarctic moss to observe the combined effects of cosmic radiation and microgravity on plants,” NASA said in a statement. “Other investigations aboard include a device to test cold welding of metals in microgravity, and an investigation that studies how space impacts different materials.”
This is SpaceX’s 31st resupply trip to the International Space Station for NASA. It is also the fifth time the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket booster has been used. It was also used to get SpaceX Crew-8 off the ground and private Polaris Dawn flight and two Starlink satellite missions before safely landing to Earth.
The reuse of the first-stage booster was unheard of before SpaceX mastered the automated return to land on drone ships off the Florida and California coast for reuse, driving down the cost of the average space flight.
The launch was SpaceX’s 105 of 2024.
Liftoff! @SpaceX’s 31st resupply mission to the @Space_Station launched from @NASAKennedy at 9:29pm ET (0229 UTC).— NASA (@NASA) November 5, 2024