NEW YORK, November 5. /TASS/. A SpaceX Cargo Dragon spacecraft lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket to resupply the International Space Station, according to a NASA webcast.

The 31st commercial mission to deliver cargo to the orbital outpost departed from John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:30 p.m. US East Coast time.

In addition to food, supplies and equipment for the crew, the Cargo Dragon will carry a coronal diagnostic unit to study the solar wind and its formation, some Antarctic moss to observe the effects of space radiation and microgravity on plants, and a device to test cold welding of metals in microgravity. It is also planned to investigate the effects of outer space on various materials.

Apart from the SpaceX Cargo Dragon, the US uses the Cygnus spacecraft from Northrop Grumman Corporation to send supplies to the ISS. However, when returning to Earth, they burn up in the dense layers of the atmosphere along with the debris they carry from the orbital outpost.