NASA commercial cargo launch provider SpaceX is targeting 5:06 a.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 21, to launch its 24th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 39A at the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
SpaceXs Dragon spacecraft will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew. Live coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agencys website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, Dec. 20.
Dragons 6,500 pounds of cargo include a variety of NASA investigations, such as a protein crystal growth study that could improve how cancer treatment drugs are delivered to patients and a handheld bioprinter that could one day be used to print tissue directly onto wounds for faster healing. There are also experiments from students at several universities as part of the Student Payload Opportunity with Citizen Science (SPOCS) program and an investigation from the makers of Tide that examines detergent efficacy in microgravity.
About 12 minutes after launch, Dragon will separate from the Falcon 9 rockets second stageand begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station. Arrival to the station is planned for Wednesday, Dec. 22. Dragon will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the stations Harmony module, with NASA astronauts Raja Chari and Thomas Marshburn monitoring operations from the station.
The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
For the protection of employees and journalists during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Kennedy Press Site facilities will be open to a limited number of journalists on a first-come, first-served basis.
Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):
Monday, Dec. 20
Noon NASA TV will broadcast a prelaunch news conference from Kennedys Press Site with the following participants:
- Joel Montalbano, manager, NASAs International Space Station Program
- Dr. Bob Dempsey,acting deputy chief scientist,NASAs International Space Station Program
- Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
- Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Stations 45th Weather Squadron
