SpaceX CRS-34 resupply mission to ISS set for launch

Date:
Tue, 12 May 2026 20:11:46 +0000

Description:
Just over two weeks after Progress MS-34 docked to the Station, the ISS is
set The post SpaceX CRS-34 resupply mission to ISS set for launch appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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Just over two weeks after Progress MS-34 docked to the Station, the ISS is
set to receive a new visiting vehicle loaded with cargo. A SpaceX Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch the CRS-34 cargo mission to ISS on Tuesday, May 12, at 7:16 PM EDT (23:16 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.

A backup window is available on Wednesday, May 13, at 6:50 PM EDT (22:50
UTC), and it may be needed. There is a 65% chance of violation for launch criteria on Tuesday due to rain and thunderstorms in the area, with the primary concerns being the cumulus cloud rule, the anvil cloud rule, flight through precipitation, and the surface electric fields rule. The forecast improves to 35% chance of violation for a 24-hour delay and a 15% chance of violation for a 48-hour delay.





Falcon booster B1096, flying on its sixth mission, will launch on a northeast trajectory and conduct a return-to-launch-site with a landing at Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40), located directly adjacent to SLC-40. Cargo Dragon C209 will be launched into a 51.6-degree orbit to match the International Space Stations (ISS) orbit, and the cargo ship will take roughly 38 hours to reach ISS. Docking is scheduled for Thursday, May 14, at 13:50 UTC, to the Harmony modules forward port. See Also CRS-34 Updates ISS Section NSF Store Click
here to Join L2

B1096 started its career with the Amazon Leo (formerly Kuiper) KF-01 flight, and also launched the IMAP, Starlink Group 6-87, NROL-77, and GPS III SV09 missions. Dragon C209 is also making its sixth flight, having first launched to the Station on CRS-22 in June 2021. This Cargo Dragon has also visited ISS during the CRS-24, CRS-27, CRS-30, and CRS-32 missions.

Cargo Dragon is carrying around 2,948 kg of supplies to the ISS, including a variety of food, equipment, and experiments. There have been more than 4,000 experiments aboard the Station over its 25 year lifespan, conducted by scientists from 110 countries, and there are 831 kg of experiments aboard
C209 for CRS-34.

The Outcomes of microbial Dynamics during Spaceflight and in SimulatEd microgravity (ODYSSEY) experiment is designed to test the fidelity of microgravity simulators on Earth by comparing them to actual behavior of two species of bacteria in space. ODYSSEY will evaluate biofilm formation and exchange of genetic material in bacteria in the microgravity environment. The US Space Forces STP-H11 pallet prior to its launch on CRS-34. (Credit: US Space Force)

The Storm Time O+ Ring current Imaging Evolution (STORIE) will investigate a captive swarm of charged particles trapped in Earths donut-shaped ring
current that is sandwiched between the two Van Allen belts and is part of Earths magnetic field. STORIE is flying as part of the U.S. Space Forces
Space Test Program-Houston 11 (STP-H11) payload and will be installed on the exterior of ISS by the Canadarm2 a few days after its arrival.

Also mounted on the STP-H11 external payload, which will be mounted on the Columbus laboratory module, is the Autonomous Ion Mass Spectrometer Sentry (AIMSS) experiment. AIMSS is designed to measure ionospheric plasma in high resolution, as well as to measure the thruster plumes of visiting vehicles
and the effects on that plasma. Graphic of the Green Bone experiment flying
on CRS-34. (Credit: NASA)

Laplace is an experiment designed to study how dust particles behave in
space, in particular, how these particles aggregate. This experiment also examines how particles and gas move in dust clouds in microgravity, and researchers hope to better understand how clouds of dust and gas can form planets and solar systems.

The Green Bone in Microgravity experiment is designed to grow human bone
cells on a biomimetic rattan wood scaffold known as b.Bone aboard the
Station. Microgravity causes bone loss in humans similar to that caused by osteoporosis, and scientists hope to test this bone scaffolds performance under similar conditions. Scaffolds can be used to help repair weak bones. Rendering of the STP-H11 pallet mounted on the ESA Columbus module. (Credit: NASA/USSF)

Spleen Activity in Space Anemia and Red Cells Kinetics (SPARK) uses
ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging to study how the spleen changes in microgravity. SPARK also measures how red blood cells break down and looks
for hemolysis markers. Anemia has been noted in astronauts returning from space, and it is important to avoid serious anemia during long-duration missions to the Moon or Mars.

The CLARREO Pathfinder, which will be mounted on an external platform on the Stations truss, is designed to accurately measure sunlight reflected off
Earth and to help calibrate other on-orbit sensors that monitor solar reflectivity. These measurements can improve our understanding of how sensitive Earth is to greenhouse gas emissions. CLARREO Pathfinder will observe Earth and use the Sun and the Moon for calibration. (Credit: NASA)

These experiments are joined by others as well as 618 kg of crew supplies,
128 kg of spacewalk equipment, 469 kg of vehicle hardware, 84 kg of computer resources, and 816 kg of unpressurized payloads. Among other things, a replacement power cable for a European exercise device, an on-orbit spare catalytic reactor for the water management system, and a pretreatment concentrate tank for the Stations toilets are also onboard the Cargo Dragon.

NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot will monitor Dragons arrival. After it docks, the Cargo Dragon will spend about a month docked to the ISS before leaving the Station in mid-June and returning to Earth with cargo. It will splashdown in the Pacific with time-critical experiment samples and hardware to be returned for repair, or
in the case of the Advanced Plant Habitat, eventual museum display.

This flight is the 56th Falcon 9 flight of 2026, and also the fifth launch overall to ISS this year. Soyuz MS-29 is the next scheduled launch to the Station, with Roscosmos Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina and NASAs Anil Menon onboard, on July 14. This flight will precede the end of Expedition 74 and Soyuz MS-28s return to Earth on July 26.

(Lead image: CRS-34 on SLC-40 ahead of launch. Credit: SpaceX)



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Link to news story:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/05/crs-34-launch/


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