NASA's SpaceX CRS-25 cargo resupply mission to space station gets new launch date

NASA and SpaceX's next commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station (ISS) - CRS-25 - is now scheduled to launch no earlier than Wednesday, July 14.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will lift off with the Cargo Dragon resupply ship from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA said that the new date supports ongoing Dragon spacecraft inspections as well as repair and replacement of any components that could have degraded by exposure to mono-methyl hydrazine (MMH) vapor found during testing in early June. The SpaceX team made the decision to replace the main parachutes of the Cargo Dragon resupply ship to allow a more detailed off-vehicle inspection of the parachutes.

Additionally, the new date also allows for the launch of the cargo mission for the earliest possible rendezvous opportunity with the space station following the upcoming high-beta angle period when the sun angle with ISS' orbital plane causes problems with thermal and power generation at the microgravity laboratory in the planned docking attitude for visiting spacecraft, the agency said in a statement on Tuesday.

The SpaceX cargo Dragon resupply ship will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew, including a study of immune aging and the potential for reversing those effects. It also will carry other studies including an investigation looking at the behaviour of sutures and wound healing in microgravity, as well as one studying how soil microorganisms function in space.

.@NASA and @SpaceX are now targeting no earlier than July 14 for the launch of the CRS-25 commercial resupply mission to the space station. https://t.co/SLhIELcmSt

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) June 28, 2022