Video: Falcon 9 launch with natural sound (members only)

SpaceX sent a cargo capsule with nearly 5,500 pounds of experiments and supplies on a three-day trip to the International Space Station on Sunday, firing the automated spaceship through low-hanging clouds and into orbit from the same launch pad where Apollo astronauts began voyages to the moon.

The ability to launch 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites comes from a shift by SpaceX to an “optimized” version of the spacecraft introduced in 2024. Liftoff from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is targeting 4:54 a.m. EDT (0854 UTC).

NASA has agreed to allow its astronauts to fly on reused Crew Dragon spaceships and Falcon 9 boosters beginning as soon as SpaceX’s third launch of a crew to the International Space Station, a mission expected to launch next year.