*UPDATE* CRS-35 Dragon docked to the station’s Harmony module at 9:27 a.m. CT
A SpaceX Cargo Dragon is closing in on the International Space Station this morning. The uncrewed freighter is scheduled to dock autonomously around 9:30–10:00 a.m. CT on Thursday, Oct. 15. NASA and SpaceX opened live rendezvous coverage shortly after 8:15 a.m. CT. As of mid-morning, agencies still described the spacecraft as approaching — not yet hard-docked.
Dragon lifted off Tuesday on Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff came at 5:33 a.m. CT on Oct. 13. The flight is NASA’s 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission, known as CRS-35. It carries more than 6,300 pounds of supplies, hardware, and research.
Why this docking matters
CRS-35 is not a routine grocery run. The trunk holds the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays, or IROSAs. Those arrays finish a multi-year power upgrade on the orbiting laboratory.
NASA put the stakes plainly in its launch release. “The final pair of solar arrays will complete the space station’s power system augmentation, boosting available electricity for research, operations, and the station’s safe, controlled deorbit,” the agency said.
That last phrase matters. The station is aging. Extra power supports day-to-day science and the eventual controlled reentry plan. Crews will install the arrays on U.S. spacewalks 100 and 101 later this fall — Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, according to a separate NASA advisory issued Oct. 14.
Live approach, then capture
NASA’s original mission release set autonomous docking for 11 a.m. EDT — 10:00 a.m. CT — at the space-facing port of Harmony. On Thursday morning, the ISS account on X updated the target to about 10:30 a.m. EDT, or 9:30 a.m. CT, and confirmed Dragon was approaching with more than 6,300 pounds of cargo.
NASA opened live coverage at 9:15 a.m. EDT (8:15 a.m. CT) on NASA+, YouTube, X, and other streams. SpaceX posted a watch link as docking coverage began. Until flight controllers confirm capture and hard dock, the accurate status is scheduled arrival and approach in progress.
Dragon flies itself for this phase. Station crews monitor. The spacecraft aims for Harmony’s zenith port — the side facing away from Earth. That geometry keeps the vehicle clear of other visiting ships and gives clean sightlines for the docking sensors.
Science packed for microgravity
Beyond the solar arrays, CRS-35 delivers a dense science manifest. NASA highlighted several payloads that could help patients on Earth.
One package carries hardware to manufacture artificial retinas in microgravity. The goal is progress toward restored vision for people with certain forms of blindness. Another delivers 3D heart tissue models. Those models support large-scale drug testing that is hard to run the same way on the ground.
Dragon also brings materials for glass-formation research in weightlessness. Separately, brain organoids ride along. Researchers hope those tissues reveal treatment targets for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.
“These are just a sample of the hundreds of investigations conducted aboard the orbiting laboratory,” NASA noted in the CRS-35 release. Station research spans biology, biotechnology, physical sciences, and Earth and space science. Results feed Artemis planning as well as clinical work back home.
How CRS-35 fits the station calendar
Expedition 75 is on board to receive the freighter. After docking, the crew will unload pressurized cargo, then stage the IROSAs for the upcoming spacewalks. The arrays stay in the unpressurized trunk until astronauts pull them during EVA prep.
Dragon is scheduled to stay until mid-November. It then undocks and returns with time-critical samples. Splashdown is planned off the California coast. That return flight often carries research that cannot wait for a later ship.
The Falcon 9 first stage that lofted CRS-35 landed at Landing Zone 40 after the Oct. 13 ascent. KeepTrack and other trackers identified the booster as B1096 on its eighth flight. Landing Zone returns keep turnaround faster than droneship recoveries when range geometry allows.
What to watch next
Thursday’s docking is the live headline. Confirmation of hard dock and hatch opening will lock the story into past tense for later updates. After that, attention shifts to the Oct. 20 news conference at Johnson Space Center. NASA will preview U.S. EVAs 100 and 101 there at 1:00 p.m. CT.
Those walks install the seventh and eighth IROSAs on the 2A and 3B power channels. Together, eight roll-out arrays are expected to raise station generation from about 160 kilowatts to roughly 215 kilowatts — up to about 30 percent more power, per NASA.
SpaceX also has a separate Falcon 9 launch window tonight from Vandenberg for USSF-481. Public details are thin because the payload is classified. The window opens around 6:44 p.m. CT. It is a watch item, not the main CRS-35 story.
Bottom line for Oct. 15
CRS-35 ties three threads into one morning: a live cargo arrival, the last solar arrays for a station power refresh, and research aimed at disease treatments on Earth. As of mid-morning CT, Dragon was still approaching Harmony. Watch NASA’s live stream for capture confirmation, then follow the October and November spacewalks that turn this trunk cargo into new power for the ISS.
