SpaceX plans to launch its 34th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-34) mission to the International Space Station from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Tuesday, May 12. Liftoff is scheduled for 7:16 p.m. ET, with a backup window on Wednesday, May 13, at 6:50 p.m. ET. The Falcon 9 rocket will carry a Dragon spacecraft loaded with supplies and experiments for NASA’s orbiting laboratory. The mission is the sixth flight for this particular Dragon capsule, which previously supported CRS-22, CRS-24, CRS-27, CRS-30, and CRS-32.
The launch will mark the first spaceflight for the Falcon 9’s new Block 5 configuration, which SpaceX claims can carry heavier payloads and has enhanced reusability features. The rocket’s first stage is expected to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean after liftoff. This will be the 103rd flight of a Falcon 9 first stage, according to SpaceX’s public tracking data.
Dragon is scheduled to autonomously dock with the ISS around 9:50 a.m. ET on Thursday, May 14, after an approximately 38-hour journey. The spacecraft will remain attached to the station for about a month before returning to Earth with scientific samples and other cargo. NASA officials have not disclosed the exact contents of the mission, but previous CRS flights have included experiments related to biology, physical science, and technology demonstrations.
A live webcast of the launch will begin 20 minutes before liftoff and can be viewed on SpaceX’s official website or the X TV app. The mission follows a successful test flight of the Starship prototype earlier this month from Starbase in Texas. This will be the first CRS mission since SpaceX’s Crew Demo-2 flight in May 2020, which marked the return of human spaceflight to the U.S. after nearly a decade.