SpaceX Falcon 9 launch set for Thursday evening

The next SpaceX launch, of a Falcon 9 rocket to send cargo to the International Space Station, has been set for a 5:55 p.m. launch on Thursday from Kennedy Space Center.

The mission would be SpaceX’s 11th commercial resupply effort to the space station.

The Dragon spacecraft will be carrying almost 6,000 pounds of science research, crew supplies and hardware. The unpressurized trunk of the spacecraft also will transport solar panels, tools for Earth-observation and equipment to study neutron stars.

This will be the 100th launch from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex 39A, and sixth SpaceX launch from this pad. Previous launches include 11 Apollo flights, the launch of the unmanned Skylab in 1973, and 82 shuttle flights.