With a launch and a hop coming up, SpaceX has a big week ahead

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  SpaceX has been assembling a Starship prototype in South Texas. This gallery highlights a recent static fire test. [credit: Trevor Mahlmann for Ars ]

This is a big week for SpaceX, which has an important Falcon 9 launch for NASA taking place from Florida and probably a key test flight in Texas as well.

On Wednesday, SpaceX is scheduled to attempt its ninth launch of 2019: a cargo supply mission to the International Space Station. The Dragon spacecraft will ferry about 2.5 metric tons of supplies, science experiments, and equipment to the orbiting laboratory. This will be the 18th supply mission SpaceX has flown for NASA.

With a static fire of the Falcon 9 rocket already complete, liftoff is presently scheduled for 6:24pm ET (22:24 UTC) Wednesday from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The weather forecast is not great, however, with a 70 percent chance of "no-go" conditions.This Falcon 9 first stage has flown once before, launching SpaceX's last supply mission to the station, in May. NASA may fly it for a third time later this year.

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