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

Ground crews loaded time-critical experiments, including 20 mice to help scientists study muscle atrophy, into SpaceX’s commercial Dragon cargo capsule Thursday, a day before a launch planned from Cape Canaveral toward the International Space Station.

The Crew Dragon docked at the space-facing port of the lab’s forward Harmony module at 3:15 p.m. EST, 34 hours after launch Friday from the Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

NASA announced agreements worth a combined $43.2 million with 14 commercial partners Friday — including Blue Origin and SpaceX — to fund experiments in propellant and power generation, in-space refueling, efficient propulsion systems, and lunar rover technology.