Spectacular launch sends cargo ship on voyage to space station
Along with crew supplies and equipment, the Cargo Dragon is delivering two rollout solar arrays to complete a major power system upgrade.
Key points
- SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 with a Dragon cargo ship on Tuesday at 6:33 a.m. EDT.
- The unpiloted Dragon carries over 6,300 pounds of supplies and research materials.
- It will dock at the space station Thursday at 11 a.m., delivering two new solar arrays.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched an unpiloted Dragon cargo ship into orbit Tuesday from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff came at 6:33 a.m. EDT, and the first stage landed back near its launch pad at 6:41 a.m.
The Dragon is carrying more than 6,300 pounds of research materials, spare parts and crew supplies. It is scheduled to dock at the International Space Station on Thursday at 11 a.m. at the forward Harmony module's space-facing port.
Cargo and fresh food
The shipment includes 844 pounds of crew supplies, 1,307 pounds of science gear, 417 pounds of spacewalk equipment and 880 pounds of vehicle hardware and computer gear. Fresh food aboard includes oranges, apples, grapefruit, tomatoes, blueberries, baby carrots and mini sweet peppers, along with a pizza kit, cookies and candy.
There's also the always popular pizza kit, cookies and candy, as well as some special holiday items.
— Bill Spetch
New solar arrays
Two new rollout solar array blankets are mounted in the Dragon's unpressurized trunk. They are the seventh and eighth IROSA arrays and will be installed during spacewalks later this month and in early November. Six IROSA blankets were installed during spacewalks starting in June 2021.
Each IROSA blanket generates 20 kilowatts of power. The new arrays are installed over the existing solar wings, and the exposed portion of the old arrays will still generate power in parallel with the new ones.
