A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 a.m. EST on Dec. 6, 2020, carrying the uncrewed cargo Dragon spacecraft on its journey to the International Space Station for NASA and SpaceX’s 21st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-21) mission. Dragon will deliver more than 6,400 pounds of science investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory. The mission marks the first launch for SpaceX under NASA’s CRS-2 contract.

The remaining time-sensitive payloads bound for the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 21st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-21) mission are loaded into the Cargo Dragon spacecraft on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Cargo Dragon, lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 a.m. EST on Dec. 6, 2020. The spacecraft is delivering more than 6,400 pounds of science investigations and cargo to the orbiting laboratory.

The first commercially funded airlock for the International Space Station is packed in the Cargo Dragon spacecraft’s trunk in October 2020 for its ride to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s 21st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-21) mission. The airlock will provide payload hosting, robotics testing, and satellite deployment, and also will serve as an outside toolbox for crew members conducting spacewalks. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Cargo Dragon, lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 11:17 a.m. EST on Dec. 6, 2020.