Explanation

The U.S. space agency NASA’s cargo provider SpaceX launched a Dragon spacecraft on Thursday, starting its resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The spacecraft, packed with about 2,600 kg of supplies and payloads, lifted off at 12:29 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time (1729 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the U.S. state of Florida. About 10 minutes later, “Dragon separation confirmed,” and then “its solar arrays have deployed,” according to SpaceX’s official Twitter account. The reusable Dragon spacecraft previously supported two resupply missions in September 2014 and June 2017. ISS crew members will use the station’s 17.6-meter robotic arm to capture Dragon and attach it to the orbiting lab on Saturday, according to SpaceX. Dragon’s payloads include a “robotic hotel” that allows gas leak detectors to be stored on the outside of the space station, thus enabling a quicker and simpler deployment of the instruments.