Watch as the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply mission launches to the International Space Station. About 6,500 pounds of cargo are set to lift off at 6:05 p.m. EDT (5:05 p.m. CST) (2205 UTC) on May 15 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida atop a Falcon 9 rocket. Teams stood down from the previous launch opportunity on May 13 due to inclement weather.
In addition to cargo for the crew aboard the space station, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, instruments and science investigations. These include a bone scaffold made from wood that could produce new treatments for fragile bone conditions like osteoporosis, a new instrument to study charged particles around Earth that can impact power grids and satellites, and an investigation that could provide a fundamental understanding of how planets form, among others.
Dragon is scheduled to dock autonomously to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at about 7:00 a.m. EDT (6:00 a.m. CST) (1100 UTC) on Sunday, May 17. It is scheduled to remain at the space station until mid-June, when it will depart the orbiting laboratory and return to Earth with time-sensitive research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of California.