SpaceX launches cargo ship to International Space Station

SpaceX successfully launched a Cargo Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Friday, carrying 6,500 pounds of supplies and research equipment for the International Space Station. The mission, delayed three days due to bad weather, marked the 638th Falcon 9 launch and included hardware for water purification, space weather research, and other experiments for Expedition 74 crew members." "article": "A SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft lifted off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:05 p.m. ET on Friday, delivering critical supplies to the International Space Station (ISS). The Falcon 9 booster, making its sixth flight, successfully landed back at the launch site after launch, while the second stage deployed the Cargo Dragon into orbit nine minutes later. This marked SpaceX’s 638th Falcon 9 launch and the 56th flight of the year. The mission carries 6,500 pounds of cargo, including research equipment, crew supplies, and spacewalk components for Expedition 74. Among the payloads are water purification hardware and experiments to study space weather. The Cargo Dragon is set to dock with the ISS early Sunday at the Harmony module’s forward port. The spacecraft will be unloaded by Crew 12 commander Jessica Meir, pilot Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Expedition 74 also includes NASA astronaut Chris Williams and cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev. The ISS has supported over 4,000 scientific experiments since its launch 25 years ago, involving researchers from 110 countries. NASA’s Liz Warren noted the station’s role as a proving ground for future lunar and Mars missions under the Artemis program. Upcoming milestones include a Soyuz launch in July and a Crew 13 mission in September, with additional cargo flights planned before year-end.