SpaceX Cargo – SpaceX launched an unpiloted Cargo Dragon on Friday, carrying about 6,500 pounds of supplies and research gear to the International Space Station after a weather-related delay. The mission is aiming for automated rendezvous early Sunday and docking around 7 a.
The Falcon 9 roared off into a sky that had already cost the mission time—bad weather pushing the launch three days late—before the unpiloted Cargo Dragon began its run to the International Space Station.
Liftoff came Friday at 6:05 p.m.. ET from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with the rocket arcing northeast along the station’s orbit.. The Dragon carried 6. 500 pounds of supplies and equipment. including nearly a ton of research gear. samples. and materials for 50 separate science investigations.
Two and a half minutes after launch, the rocket’s first stage—on its sixth flight—separated and flew back to an on-target touchdown on a landing pad near the launch gantry. The second stage continued to orbit, releasing the Cargo Dragon to fly on its own nine minutes and 20 seconds after liftoff.
For SpaceX, it was a high-tempo launch: the company’s 638th Falcon 9 launch since the rocket debuted in 2010, the 56th Falcon 9 flight this year so far, and the 611th successful booster recovery.
Bill Spetch. ISS operations integration manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. said the flight represented a milestone for the cargo vehicle.. “This will be the first Cargo Dragon spacecraft to head to the station for a sixth time. so a great milestone there. ” he said.. Spetch added that the spacecraft is carrying “over 6,000 pounds of hardware, supplies, science experiments and more to our Expedition 74 crew.”
The cargo includes water purification hardware and research aimed at understanding space weather. If everything proceeds as planned, the Dragon will complete an automated rendezvous with the station early Sunday and move in for docking at the front end of the forward Harmony module around 7 a.m.
Once the hatches open. the unloading work will be handled by Crew 12 commander Jessica Meir along with pilot Jack Hathaway. European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot. and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.. The broader Expedition 74 team on board the station also includes Soyuz MS-28/74S commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov. cosmonaut Sergey Mikaev. and NASA astronaut Chris Williams.
The Dragon’s manifest is packed with specific categories of hardware and materials: more than 3 tons total. including 1. 363 pounds of crew clothing and food and other essentials; more than 1. 000 pounds of vehicle hardware; 282 pounds of spacewalk components; 186 pounds of computer gear; and 1. 834 pounds of research equipment and samples.
At NASA, the station’s scientific and global reach is part of the mission’s larger stakes.. Liz Warren. deputy chief scientist for the space station program. said the ISS has enabled more than 4. 000 different science experiments and technology demonstrations over its 25 years in orbit.. “And that represents the work of over 5,000 researchers from 110 countries around the world,” Warren said.
Warren also framed the station as more than a lab in low Earth orbit.. “The International Space Station is a truly global endeavor.. It serves both as a proving ground for scientific breakthroughs and as a critical stepping stone to help enable the Artemis program. lunar exploration and future Mars missions. ” she said.
The next shift in station crews is already on the calendar. In July, Soyuz MS-29 commander Pyotr Dubrov, cosmonaut Anna Kikina, and NASA astronaut Anil Menon are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 14 to replace Kud-Sverchkov and two Soyuz MS-28 crewmates.
Cargo traffic will also continue.. A Russian Progress cargo ship is expected in early September. and NASA’s Crew 13—Jessica Watkins. Luke Delaney. Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk. and cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov—is scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule on Sept.. 12 to replace Crew 12.
With additional cargo flights planned before the end of the year and crew rotation flights resuming in early 2027, Friday’s launch lands in a steady rhythm—one that, for this mission, depended on beating the weather clock to keep science moving on schedule.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Cargo Dragon ISS Expedition 74 science experiments space weather NASA weather delay docking