Photo: Charles Boyer
SpaceX and NASA are set to send supplies to ISS overnight aboard Cargo Dragon. Liftoff is set for 2:45:36 AM ET in an instantaneous window. And it will be a quick trip once in orbit: after an approximate 28-hour flight, Dragon will dock with the orbiting outpost on Monday, August 25, around 7:30 AM ET.
At A Glance
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Mission | Falcon 9 Block 5 | Dragon CRS-2 SpX-33 — Go for Launch! |
| Organization | SpaceX |
| Location | Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 |
| Pad | Space Launch Complex 40 |
| Status | Go for Launch |
| Status Info | Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources. |
| Window Opens | Sunday, 08/24/2025 2:45:36 AM |
| Window Closes | Sunday, 08/24/2025 2:45:36 AM |
| Destination | Low Earth Orbit |
| Mission Description |
33rd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX.
The flight will be conducted under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA.
Cargo Dragon 2 brings supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support science and research investigations that occur onboard the orbiting laboratory. |
As of 10:00 AM Saturday August 23, 2025. Launch times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult SpaceX.com for more information.
Along with the usual gamut of food, gear, and crew supplies, CRS-33 will deliver a range of scientific experiments to the International Space Station. These include stem cells that promote bone formation, aimed at studying how to prevent bone loss in space. Dragon will also carry materials for 3D printing medical implants—research that could lead to better treatments for nerve damage back on Earth.
The Tortilla Express
Another item on the launch manifest for CRS-33 is roughly 1500 tortillas. They are a staple food aboard Station — convenient, quick, and quite handy to bundle up other food items…breakfast, lunch or dinner. They are a crumb-free condensed item, making the humble tortilla one of the most likely foods humans will carry to Mars and beyond.
Other payloads include bioprinted liver tissue for examining how blood vessels form in microgravity, and tools for printing metal cubes in orbit.
Planned Reboost Test For Cargo Dragon
Cargo Dragon will also conduct a reboost test to help maintain the station’s altitude. The boost system, housed in Dragon’s trunk, features its own propellant setup and uses a pair of Draco engines powered by existing hardware.
Starting in September 2025, the system will carry out a series of burns to demonstrate its ability to sustain the lab’s orbit. This follows Dragon’s first successful test of the reboost function on November 8, 2024, during NASA’s 31st commercial resupply mission with SpaceX.
Cargo Dragon is expected to stay docked at the station through December after which it will return to Earth off of the coast of California.
Booster: B1090
This will be the seventh flight of first stage B1090, which will be supporting this mission. Previously, B1090 launched O3b mPOWER-E, Crew-10, Bandwagon-3, O3b mPOWER-D, and two Starlink missions. Following stage separation, it will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas, located downrange off the South Carolina coast. There will not be a sonic boom on the Space Coast after the launch.
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron of Space Launch Delta 45 released their Launch Mission Execution Forecast yesterday afternoon, and it calls for a 70% chance of acceptable weather, with watch items being the usual summer items: cumulus clouds and nearby lightning.
Trajectory
Northeast, on the usual ISS route.
B1090 will touch down off the South Carolina coast aboard ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’
Online Viewing
Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link
SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: CRS-33. This will also be available on the X platform. Coverage starts about twenty minutes before liftoff.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
For official updates regarding launch times, SpaceX.com is the best source of information. Starlink launch times change from time to time, and the company generally updates their website within minutes of the decision to change the launch time. This is very handy if none of the streaming options on YouTube have started their broadcasts.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
Next Space Flight an app for iOS and Android phones, has a real-time countdown clock that is accurate to a second, give or take. The app is free. Search the App Store or Google Play. They are also on the web: nextspaceflight.com.
Launch Viewing: In Person
The best free options are available for spectators: Jetty Park, the Banana River Bridge on FL 528 W or the southern Titusville parks on Washington Avenue / US-1 are your best bets. Don’t forget bug spray.
Author: Charles Boyer
NASA kid from Cocoa Beach, FL, born of Project Apollo parents and family. I’m a writer and photographer sharing the story of spaceflight from the Eastern Range here in Florida.
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