SpaceX will launch its latest cargo mission to the International Space Station this evening. The space organization has scheduled liftoff for 8:44 p.m. EDT from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission has been a long time coming and will carry crucial supplies and equipment to the International Space Station.
Watch SpaceX launch a cargo mission to the ISS
As with any NASA-related launch, you’ll be able to catch the SpaceX launch on Thursday evening by tuning into the official NASA livestream. As noted above, liftoff is scheduled for shortly before 9 p.m. EDT, or roughly 0044 GMT. A Falcon 9 rocket will carry one of the SpaceX Dragon cargo capsules to the space station.
Tucked inside the Dragon capsule is roughly 5,800 pounds (2,630 kilograms) of supplies and scientific hardware. The mission, which NASA officially labeled Commercial Resupply Services 25, or CRS-25, has been in the works since early June. However, the first launch was canceled when engineers noticed increased levels of hydrazine in the propulsion system.
The original SpaceX launch was then canceled a second time so it could replace some hardware on the rocket system and perform other inspections. Now, though, NASA has finally rescheduled the SpaceX to liftoff and carry those critical supplies up to the ISS.
What viewers should expect
Those tuning into the SpaceX launch on NASA’s official livestream will watch along as the engineers prepare the rocket for its ascent. This will include the standard liftoff procedures, including the capsule’s detachment from the Falcon 9 rocket booster. Once everything has detached, the booster will make its return, and attempt to land on a droneship in the ocean.
NASA will showcase the entire sequence via its official livestream. And SpaceX will no doubt provide any additional updates across its various social media. This is just one of many SpaceX launches that have made their way to the International Space Station in the past several years. NASA and SpaceX have other missions in the works, too.
This is also not the first time this particular Dragon capsule has made the trip to the ISS. In fact, this will be the capsule’s third trip to the station since it began hauling cargo to the orbiting lab back in December of 2020. SpaceX has carried out 29 orbital missions this year alone, this is just the latest in its ambitious schedule.
The ISS receives commercial resupply missions like CRS-25 fairly often. These missions carry important supplies to the station. And the ISS even used some resupply missions to dispose of trash. The station has since begun work on a new waste disposal system, which uses specially made garbage bags to jettison trash into the atmosphere where it burns up safely.
