How to watch the SpaceX resupply mission to the ISS today

By Georgina Torbet June 3, 2021

This week, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon will be launched on a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). This uncrewed ship will be packed full of supplies and experiments as part of the 22nd resupply mission by SpaceX.

Contents

What the resupply mission involves
How to watch the launch

NASA will livestream the launch of the Cargo Dragon, and we’ve got the details on how you can watch it live.

What the resupply mission involves

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 a.m. EST on Dec. 6, 2020, carrying the uncrewed cargo Dragon spacecraft on its journey to the International Space Station for NASA and SpaceX’s 21st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-21) mission. Dragon will deliver more than 6,400 pounds of science investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory. The mission marks the first launch for SpaceX under NASA’s CRS-2 contract. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 a.m. EST on Dec. 6, 2020, carrying the uncrewed cargo Dragon spacecraft on its journey to the International Space Station for NASA and SpaceX’s 21st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-21) mission. Dragon will deliver more than 6,400 pounds of science investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory. The mission marks the first launch for SpaceX under NASA’s CRS-2 contract. NASA/Tony Gray and Kenny Allen

NASA regularly sends up uncrewed cargo ships to the ISS, carrying supplies for the crew as well as new scientific experiments for them to work on. Among the experiments included in this launch will be an experiment into how kidney health is affected by space travel and how better treatments can be developed for kidney conditions both in space and on Earth, and experiments involving some unusual animal species like water bears and bobtail squids.

The Cargo Dragon will be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch is scheduled for Thursday, June 3, and the ship will travel to the ISS over Friday, set to arrive at the station early on Saturday morning.

How to watch the launch

The launch of the Cargo Dragon will be streamed lived by NASA. You can watch using either the video embedded at the top of this page, or by going to NASA’s website. Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET (9:30 a.m. PT) on Thursday, June 3, with views of the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center.

The full coverage of the launch begins at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT), when NASA TV will host experts and commentators to discuss the launch. If you’d rather see the insider view, there is also what is called a clean feed available, which shows only mission communications. You can watch that on the NASA TV Media Channel.

NASA will also be streaming the arrival of the Dragon at the ISS and its rendezvous and docking, so you can follow the cargo ship’s entire journey. Coverage of the rendezvous will begin at 3:30 a.m. ET (12:30 a.m. PT) on Saturday, June 5. Docking is scheduled for 5 a.m. ET (2 a.m. PT).

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Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina is the Digital Trends space writer, covering human space exploration, planetary science, and cosmology. She…

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