Last Minute Delivery Service for ISS

SpaceX Overnight Delivery
Credit : SpaceX

As dusk settled on Florida’s Cape Canaveral Thursday evening, SpaceX made a couple of late package deliveries to the Dragon spacecraft scheduled to blast off for the International Space Station this morning. Among the items, fresh fruit for the astronauts aboard ISS, grown in an orchard owned by the parents of a SpaceX employee.

With formal countdown procedures beginning only a few hours later with initial power up of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, the last-minute loading, which can take place as late as T-8 hours, demonstrated one of the original capabilities which were envisioned when the Alternate Access to Station program, the predecessor to COTS and CRS began more than a decade ago.

Liftoff is scheduled for 10:10 Am EST, with weather showing an 90 %chance of go conditions.