A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon capsule lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 14, 2022, for the agency’s 25th commercial resupply to the International Space Station service tasks. Departure time is 8:44pm. summer. Dragon will deliver more than 5,800 pounds of cargo to the space station, including various NASA investigations. The spacecraft is expected to remain at the orbiting outpost for about a month before returning to Earth for research and cargo and crashing off the coast of Florida.
Credits: NASA
SpaceX’s 26th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA has received media certification. The launch of the SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch no earlier than Friday, Nov. 18 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceX’s Dragon will provide international crews with new scientific research, supplies and equipment, including the next pair of solar panels (iROSA) to be launched on the International Space Station. It will also include a study on growing dwarf tomatoes to create a continuous fresh food production system in space, and an experiment to test a method to produce specific quantities of key nutrients on demand.
A media pre-release and launch event will take place at Kennedy. U.S. citizens can participate in the launch. US media must apply by 11:59 p.m. Monday, November 7th.
Media wishing to take part in person must apply for credentials at: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
Credentialed media will receive a confirmation email upon approval. For questions about accreditation or to request special logistical requests such as space for satellite trucks, tents, or electrical connections, please email by Wednesday, Nov. 9 to: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other questions, please contact Kennedy’s newsroom at: 321-867-2468.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo at: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov or 321-501-8425.
Other studies being launched include testing of a microscope with potential space applications and the Heart Health Research Engineered Heart Tissue-2 (EHT-2). The experiment builds on a 2020 study of 3D cultures on the space station. Previous experiments have identified changes at the cellular and tissue levels that could provide early clues to the development of heart disease. The study tested whether new treatments could prevent these adverse effects from occurring.
The resupply of cargo by U.S. companies has greatly improved NASA’s ability to conduct more investigations at the orbiting laboratory. These investigations lead to new technologies, medical treatments and products that improve life on Earth. Other U.S. government agencies, private industry, and academic and research organizations can also conduct microgravity research through our partnership with the International Space Station National Laboratory.
Humans have been aboard the space station since November 2000. During this period, 263 people and various international and commercial spacecraft visited the orbital outpost. It remains a stepping stone for NASA’s next major research leaps, including future missions to the moon under Artemis and eventually human exploration of Mars.
For more information on commercial supply missions, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/commercialresupply