SpaceX hopes storms stay away for space station cargo launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Cargo Dragon spacecraft atop, is raised to a vertical position at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A on July 12, 2022, in preparation for the 25th commercial resupply services launch to the Int CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Almost 6,000 pounds of cargo and experiments are ready to fly to the space station if Mother Nature cooperates Thursday evening.SpaceX’s 25th cargo mission is scheduled to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 8:44 p.m.

Forecasters, calling for a 70-percent chance of good weather, expect the east coast sea breeze to keep Florida’s summertime storms inland, but "an isolated shower or storm cannot be ruled out."If all goes well, the Dragon capsule – this one making its third cargo flight – is due to dock Saturday morning.

In addition to food and other supplies for the astronauts, the capsule will be carrying experiments like NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, which will investigate the effect desert dust has on climate change.NASA says other CRS-25 investigations will study the aging of immune cells and the potential to reverse those effects during postflight recovery, a small satellite that will monitor cloud-top and ocean surface temperatures, and a student experiment testing a concrete alternative for potential use in building habitats on the moon and Mars.RELATED: Secretive robot spaceplane breaks own record: 781 days in spaceThe capsule’s arrival on Saturday morning will coincide with the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo XI launch, which blasted off from the very same launch pad before landing on the moon.

But Launch Pad 39A is looking very different than it did during the Apollo days. After being used for nearly all of the Apollo.