A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the company’s 35th NASA commercial resupply mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:33 a.m. EDT on Oct. 13, 2026, according to NASA. The Dragon spacecraft is carrying more than 6,300 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station.
NASA said the shipment includes the final pair of station roll-out solar arrays. Astronauts are expected to install them during spacewalks planned for later in the fall. The arrays will complete an upgrade intended to increase electricity available for research and station operations, as well as support the station’s eventual controlled deorbit.
The cargo also includes research equipment for experiments in microgravity. NASA described projects involving artificial-retina manufacturing, three-dimensional heart-tissue models, glass formation and brain organoids. The agency said the studies could inform future research and applications on Earth; the release did not provide results from these experiments, which are being delivered to the station.
NASA scheduled Dragon’s autonomous docking for 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 15, at the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. The agency said coverage was to begin at 9:15 a.m. EDT.
The spacecraft is expected to remain at the station until mid-November, then return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off California, NASA said. These are schedules and projections provided in the agency’s announcement.
