Scott Nicholas
SpaceX aims to launch its Dragon spacecraft on Sunday to deliver approximately 6,000 pounds of crew supplies, equipment, science and research investigations to the International Space Station as part of the company’s 12th commercial resupply mission with NASA.
Dragon is scheduled to blast off atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 12:56 p.m. Eastern time Sunday from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to a NASA blog post published Tuesday.
The agency said Friday the mission will provide multiple science investigations for ISS researchers to examine the crystallization of LRRK2 protein in microgravity and effects of microgravity on stem cell mediated recellularization as well as measure the cosmic ray charges.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will also carry the Rodent Research-9 experiment designed to assess physiological changes in mice after a spaceflight mission and the NanoRacks-SMDC-Kestrel Eye system built to demonstrate the potential use of small satellites to support critical missions in low-Earth orbit.
