NASA Sets Coverage for SpaceX 35th Station Resupply Launch, Arrival

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 6:33 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 13, for the launch of the 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station. The cargo spacecraft, a SpaceX Dragon riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket, will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission is critical for delivering a wide array of science investigations, supplies, and equipment, most notably the final set of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays to the orbital complex.

The Dragon spacecraft will carry more than 6,300 pounds of cargo, including hardware designed to manufacture artificial retinas in microgravity to help restore vision on Earth. Other payloads include 3D heart tissue models to advance large-scale drug testing, materials to study the formation of a new type of glass in the space environment, and brain organoids that could reveal treatment targets for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis. Upon arrival, the spacecraft is scheduled to dock autonomously around 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, to the space-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.

NASA will host a media teleconference on Thursday, October 8, at 1:15 p.m. EDT to preview the cargo resupply flight and provide a post-splashdown update for the SpaceX Crew-12 mission, which returned to Earth that same morning. Participants in the briefing include Bill Spetch, deputy manager of the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Program; Dr. Liz Warren, deputy chief scientist at NASA’s International Space Station Office; Lee Echerd, senior mission manager for Customer Operations and Integration at SpaceX; and Andreas Mogensen, leader of the Human Exploration Group at the European Space Agency. Media members must contact the NASA Johnson Space Center newsroom by 12 p.m. on October 8 to receive call details.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until mid-November, at which point it will depart the orbiting laboratory and return to Earth with time-critical research and cargo. The return journey will conclude with a splashdown off the coast of California. NASA’s live launch and docking coverage will stream through various platforms, with launch day coverage on the NASA website beginning no earlier than 6 a.m. on October 13 to follow countdown milestones. On-demand streaming video will be available on NASA+ shortly after liftoff, and the public can register to attend the launch virtually through NASA’s virtual guest program.

What to watch: The final set of ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays arriving on the 35th CRS mission in October 2026.

Editor's note: Strong reporting that effectively organizes the mission details and technical schedule. The inclusion of the 'What to watch' line is minor filler but the rest of the content is high quality.