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NASA and SpaceX plan to send about 13,000 pounds of science experiments, supplies and equipment from Florida on Tuesday to the International Space Station.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off at 5:06 a.m. from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
Space Force forecasters predict only a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for the launch, citing cumulous clouds, NASA and SpaceX plan to send about 13,000 pounds of science experiments, supplies and equipment from Florida on Tuesday to the International Space Station.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off at 5:06 a.m. from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
Space Force forecasters predict only a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for the launch, citing cumulous clouds, a thick cloud layer and surface electric field rules as the main concerns.
In case of postponement, a backup launch time is planned about 24 hours later.
Among the experiments on board are cells from people with Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis that have been grown in laboratories; a high-tech "tape gun" or bioprinter that can print tissue patches as a type of bandage; and investigations into how plants grow in space.
The capsule also will carry a variety of Christmas meals, including "turkey, ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans and mushrooms, cornbread dressing, cranberry-apple dessert and cherry-blueberry cobbler," the space agency said.
The astronauts are expected to announce in a video transmission Monday which holiday meal they will choose.
NASA astronauts on the space station are Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, Thomas Marshburn and Mark Vande Hei. They're accompanied by Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov, along with European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer.
Astronauts and robotic equipment will subject the cells from Parkinson's or MS patients to tests in the near-weightlessness of space.
The experiment is the third of its kind flown to the space station as the National Stem Cell Foundation searches for treatments. Such remedies could also extend to other neurological maladies like Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Dr. Paula Grisanti, CEO of the foundation, said in an interview.
"We believe this research could lead to new insights or breakthroughs into neurodegenerative disease, which affects millions of Americans," Grisanti said. "We're hoping for new insight or new findings into the process of neurodegeneration."
The foundation, a non-profit based in Louisville, Ky., has spent about $1 million on the microgravity research to date, she said.
Previous such studies already confirmed that microgravity allows easier and more accurate observation of cellular tissue and the nature of the diseased cells, Grisanti said. That's because the absence of gravity means the cells aren't as compressed.
"Everyone is so excited, so encouraged by what's happening up there ... it feels so much like we're on the brink of great discovery," she said.
The bioprinter, a project of the German Space Agency, uses cells and biological molecules to print tissue structures.
"On human space exploration missions, skin injuries need to be treated quickly and effectively," project manager Michael Becker said in a press release.
"Mobile bioprinting could significantly accelerate the healing process ... and is an important step for further personalized medicine in space and on Earth."
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