CRS-22, as the mission is known, is scheduled for launch at 1:29 p.m. ET on June 3 and will be shown on NASA’s streaming service NASA TV, which is available on NASA’s website and YouTube.
SpaceX also usually hosts its own mission livestreams on its Twitter account and website.
The mission can also be viewed in person. NASA is currently selling tickets to view the CRS-22 launch from its Banana Creek launch viewing area—located around 4 miles from the launch pad—for $20 in addition to the $57 Kennedy Space Center daily admission fee. Alternatively, anyone keen to pay to see the launch can do so from the farther-away North Atlantis Lawn, situated 7.5 miles from the pad.
CRS-22 is the 22nd contracted cargo resupply mission to the ISS to be carried out by SpaceX. It is also the second mission under SpaceX’s Commercial Resupply Services-2 contract with NASA.
CRS-22 will see a total of 7,337 pounds of cargo being blasted off towards the ISS, including around 3,000 pounds of solar arrays, 750 pounds of crew supplies, and more than 2,000 pounds for science investigations.
The ISS is well established as a microgravity science laboratory, with hundreds of experiments being conducted there in the fields of biology, physical sciences, and more.
Scientists can also use the station’s science capabilities to better understand how to prepare for long-duration space missions.
The scientific experiments aboard CRS-22 include one that will study cotton plants and how their roots develop in space. It could help develop varieties of cotton that need less water and pesticide use.
The cargo also includes a payload of tiny animals called tardigrades. These 0.5-mm-long creatures are known to be tolerant of extreme conditions including vacuum, and scientists want to use them to better understand stress tolerance for humans in space.
Other animals on board include a number of small squids called bobtail squids. The experiment will study the relationships between bobtail squids and microbes in microgravity, according to Everyday Astronaut.
The equipment will fly aboard a Dragon capsule specifically designed to carry cargo, which itself will sit atop SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. This will be the first time both this rocket and this capsule are used for a flight.
SpaceX tends to reuse its hardware multiple times, and is planning to use the same rocket booster on an upcoming crewed ISS mission, Crew-3, scheduled for October this year.
