SpaceX launches 35th ISS resupply mission with final solar arrays

SpaceX launched its 35th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station on October 13, 2026, lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:33 a.m. EDT. The Falcon 9 rocket carried a Dragon spacecraft containing more than 6,300 pounds (approximately 2,860 kilograms) of cargo, including the final pair of Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs) designed to complete the station's power system augmentation. The Dragon is scheduled to autonomously dock with the ISS on October 15 at approximately 11 a.m. EDT at the space-facing port of the Harmony module.

The mission delivers scientific hardware and experimental materials supporting multiple research areas. Among the payloads are systems for manufacturing artificial retinas in microgravity to support vision restoration efforts on Earth, 3D heart tissue models to advance large-scale drug testing, materials for studying glass formation in microgravity, and brain organoids for research into potential treatments for neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and multiple sclerosis. The Dragon spacecraft is the only currently operational cargo vehicle capable of returning materials to Earth; Russia's Progress, Japan's HTV-X, and Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL are expendable and burn up upon reentry.

The Dragon will remain docked at the ISS for approximately one month before returning to Earth in mid-November, carrying scientific results and repair equipment. The mission also includes installation of the final solar arrays during a series of spacewalks planned for later in the fall, which will complete the space station's power system upgrades and support ongoing research operations.