CRS-31 Soars Towards the I.S.S.

Stock Image:  Graham Smith

Kennedy Space Center, FL. – Liftoff! This evening, November 4, 2024, a SpaceX Falcon 9 lit the night skies of the Space Coast sending the Crew Resupply (CRS) 31 mission on a trip to the International Space Station (I.S.S.). Liftoff came at 9:29 PM EST from Launch Complex 39-A during an instantaneous launch window. Shortly after launch, the previously flown first stage booster made a successful landing at LZ-1 sending a sonic boom across the area.

To prepare for the Cargo Dragon capsule arrival at the I.S.S., the Crew 9 astronauts on station had to move the Crew Dragon “Freedom” to a secondary location. NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, undocked the spacecraft from the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at and re-docked to the Harmony Module’s space-facing port early Sunday morning of November 3, 2024. Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore became part of Crew 9 with the departure of Starliner this past summer extending their mission at the station. Crew 9 is expected to return to Earth in February 2025.

Stock Image:  Michael Howard

The CRS 31 Cargo Dragon capsule is loaded with about 6000 pounds of supplies including food and equipment as well as science experiments for the astronauts to examine. Among the experiments is the CODEX (Coronal Diagnostic Experiment) to study solar winds and the ARTEMOSS experiment that will study the effects of cosmic radiation on plant life. The Cargo Dragon should arrive at the station about twelve hours after launch.

Image Credit:  Michael Seeley - CRS-31

Currently, the Cargo Dragon is expected to remain at the I.S.S. for a period of a few weeks with departure sometime in December when it will splashdown off of the Florida coastline.  Story By:  Michael Howard Images By:  Michael Howard, Graham Smith and Michael Seeley