SpaceX and NASA are set to launch 6,500 pounds of supplies, hardware and science experiments to the International Space Station Wednesday evening from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The company’s Cargon Dragon capsule will embark on the commercial resupply mission after launching atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Liftoff of NASA’s CRS-34 is currently scheduled for 6:50 p.m. ET. SpaceX plans to land the first stage booster back at Cape Canaveral about eight minutes after liftoff. That could mean residents across Central Florida could hear sonic booms on its return
An attempt to launch the mission Tuesday was called off due to weather.
Once it does launch, the mission will deliver 1,363 pounds of crew supplies, 1,834 pounds of science investigations, 282 pounds of spacewalk hardware, 1,034 pounds of vehicle hardware and 186 pounds of computer hardware.
The capsule will deliver equipment to support dozens of science investigations on the orbiting lab. That includes investigations looking into new treatments for osteoporosis, instruments to observe charged particles around the Earth that impact power grids and satellites, and an experiment looking at how planets form.
Another experiment will look at how microgravity and space radiation affect microbes.
“Studies on this topic could aid in the success of future space exploration missions and back on Earth inform new and innovative approaches for curbing the spread of infections in hospitals,” said Liz Warren, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program.
This mission is also carrying supplies for the crew of seven aboard the station, including replacement hardware for the crew’s urine-recycling water system and a new power cable for the crew’s exercise machine.
This will be the sixth mission for this particular Dragon capsule, and sixth flight of the Falcon 9 booster. NASA pays companies like SpaceX to deliver supplies to the orbiting outpost.
The capsule will remain docked there for about a month before returning to Earth. When it returns in mid-June, it will bring back completed experiments from the station including the Advanced Plant Habitat, which hosted long-duration plant studies. Dragon capsules splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.
