SpaceX Falcon 9 launch lights up sky over Mayport

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up the pre-dawn sky over Naval Station Mayport on Tuesday, Oct. 13. The rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying NASA cargo to the International Space Station.

Naval Station Mayport's official social media account posted photos of the launch shortly after liftoff, describing it as a striking sight over the base near Atlantic Beach.

The Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at 6:33 a.m., Spaceflight Now reported, carrying a Dragon capsule loaded with more than 6,300 pounds of science experiments and supplies. The mission, designated CRS-35, is SpaceX's 35th commercial resupply run for NASA.

Less than 7½ minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first-stage booster completed its eighth flight and landed back at Cape Canaveral. Spaceflight Now reported a sonic boom rang across the spaceport as the booster touched down.

The cargo includes the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays, according to NASA's mission blog. The Dragon is also delivering hardware to manufacture artificial retinas in microgravity, 3D heart tissue models for drug testing and brain organoids that could help identify treatment targets for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Gaurang Patel, NASA's operations integration manager for the Low Earth Orbit Program, said during the post-launch broadcast that the solar array delivery caps a years-long effort. "It's been quite the journey," Patel said.

Military vessel photography account WarshipCam documented the guided missile destroyer USS Farragut at Mayport's pier with the Falcon 9 climbing in the background.

The Dragon capsule is scheduled to dock autonomously with the station's Harmony module at approximately 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15.

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