LOS ANGELES, May 15 (Xinhua) -- NASA and SpaceX launched a new commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday.
A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying about 6,500 pounds of cargo lifted off at 6:05 p.m. Eastern Time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida.
The spacecraft is expected to dock autonomously with the ISS at about 7 a.m. Eastern Time Sunday.
Dragon is delivering supplies for the crew aboard the space station and several new experiments, according to NASA.
The spacecraft is carrying a series of scientific instruments to the ISS, including equipment to study charged particles around Earth that can affect power grids and satellites, hardware aimed at improving scientists' understanding of how planets form, and an instrument designed to make highly accurate measurements of sunlight reflected by Earth and the Moon.
The spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the orbiting laboratory until mid-June before returning to Earth with time-sensitive research samples and cargo.
The mission marks the 34th SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the ISS for NASA. The launch was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed twice due to unfavorable weather conditions. ■
