Q&A with George Ricker, principal investigator for the TESS mission (members only)

SpaceX’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station to begin a one-month stay at the orbiting outpost. Dragon launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 9:29 p.m. EST (0229 UTC) for the Commercial Resupply Services 31 (CRS-31) mission.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is again standing on launch pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, this time with a Dragon supply ship on top ready to head on a resupply run to the International Space Station.

The overnight launch marked the second Falcon 9 flight since the July 11 mishap that grounded the rocket. Liftoff happened at 1:09 a.m. EDT (0509 UTC).