SpaceX’s robotic cargo mission to the International Space Station is set for liftoff on Thursday, November 9th, after a successful review by NASA and SpaceX teams for the CRS-29 mission. The Dragon capsule is scheduled to be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 8:28 p.m. EST (0128 GMT on Nov. 10).
The CRS-29 launch is set to proceed after the review confirmed that everything is on target for the mission. The live coverage will be available via NASA and will begin at 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT). The forecast predicts a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for liftoff, according to Melody Lovin, launch weather officer with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron.
Related: SpaceX to launch final piece of NASA’s 1st two-way laser communications relay
If everything goes according to plan, the Dragon will reach the ISS around 5:20 a.m. EST (1020 GMT) on Saturday, November 11th. This mission is SpaceX’s 29th resupply mission for NASA, carrying more than 6,500 pounds (2,950 kilograms) of supplies and scientific hardware to the orbiting lab, including NASA’s AWE and ILLUMA-T experiments. AWE will study gravity waves in Earth’s atmosphere while ILLUMA-T will test high-speed communications.
Once installed on the exterior of the ISS, ILLUMA-T will communicate with NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) mission, paving the way for laser communications terminals on spacecraft orbiting the moon or Mars.
Additionally, CRS-29 will also transport a variety of food for the ISS crew, including seasonal specialties. The Dragon will spend about a month docked to the ISS before returning to Earth with cargo, making it the only cargo vehicle with this return capability among the operational robotic freighters today.
Tonight’s launch was initially scheduled for November 5th but was delayed to ensure prelaunch processing and to resolve an issue with one of the Dragon’s thrusters.
