The mission took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida around 12:50 am IST Sunday. The original liftoff date had been Wednesday, 23 November 2022.
CRS26’s SpaceX Dragon spacecraft has separated from its Falcon 9 rocket and is now on its way to the space station. Tune in for docking coverage beginning at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, November 28, 2022.
SpaceX is carrying a fresh haul of supplies to the International Space Station this weekend after bad weather at the launch site forced the company to wave off its first attempt.
Nutrients are a key component of maintaining good health in space. But fresh produce is in short supply on the space station compared with the prepackaged meals astronauts eat during their six-month stays in low-Earth orbit.
The bounty of supplies on board includes a pair of new solar arrays for the space station, dwarf tomato seeds, and a range of science experiments. There will also be treats for the astronauts on the space station, like ice cream, and Thanksgiving fare like spicy green beans, cranberry apple desserts, pumpkin pie, and candy corn.
Dragon will deliver more than 7,700 pounds of cargo, including a variety of NASA investigations, supplies, and equipment to the crew aboard the space station, including the next pair of ISS Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs).
The solar arrays will be installed outside the floating laboratory during spacewalks scheduled for November 29 and December 3. They will give the space station a power boost.
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.
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SpaceX has launched more than two dozen resupply missions to the space station over the past decade as part of a multibillion-dollar deal with NASA. This launch comes amid SpaceX’s busiest year to date, with more than 50 operations so far, including two astronaut missions.
