Tons of supplies, including tardigrades, baby Hawaiian bobtail squid, and a batch of fresh fruit and vegetables, are scheduled to lift off on Thursday aboard a new SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket bound for the International Space Station. You can watch the action live right here.
Launch of the uncrewed SpaceX CRS-22 commercial cargo mission to the ISS is expected at 1:29 p.m. ET. A Falcon 9 rocket, along with a Dragon capsule packed with 7,337 pounds (3,328 kg) of cargo, will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s coverage of the event will begin at 1:00 p.m. ET, while the SpaceX broadcast will begin at 1:25 p.m. ET. Both feeds are viewable below.
Should today’s launch be postponed, NASA and SpaceX will try again on Friday, June 4 at 1:03 p.m. ET. After separating from the Dragon capsule, the Falcon 9 first stage will attempt an autonomous landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, currently positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Dragon is scheduled to dock with the ISS on Saturday, June 5 at 5:00 a.m. ET.
The Dragon spacecraft contains crew supplies, materials for science experiments, spacewalk equipment, vehicle hardware, and computer resources. Packed within the science cargo are a colony of tardigrades, a batch of baby bobtail squid, and some cotton plants, among other items. The crew will experiment upon these organisms to test interactions between animals and their symbiotic microbes, to gain a better understanding of how some animals are able to survive extreme conditions, and to develop crops that require less water and pesticides. The little squid are part of the UMAMI experiment, designed to “ascertain how microbes colonize and influence the development of the animals” in space.
Other experiments going up include an investigation into why astronauts are prone to kidney stones, along with tests of a virtual reality interface and a portable ultrasound device.
Today’s launch will be SpaceX’s 22nd cargo resupply mission to the ISS. This specific Falcon 9 booster and the Dragon spacecraft are launching for the very first time; most other missions have involved reused vehicles. The Dragon will return to Earth in July, carrying 5,300 pounds (2,400 kg) of experiment samples and cargo.
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DISCUSSION
No love for the NASASpaceFlight stream? I really like their commentary over the official SpaceX / NASA feeds, just generally more “fun”.