SpaceX CRS-35 Launch Creates 'Space Jellyfish' Over Florida at 6:33 a.m.

Q: Beyond the breathtaking launch display, what crucial Artemis lunar mission preparations were quietly sent into orbit this week?

A key Artemis payload on this week’s CRS-35 flight was a collapsible contingency urinal demonstration unit and its supporting hardware, sent up specifically to help prepare for NASA’s Artemis III lunar mission. The hardware is designed as an emergency wastewater collection system for use in microgravity and reduced-gravity environments, the kind astronauts will face in Orion, lunar transit, and future surface operations. While it drew far less attention than the vivid “space jellyfish” launch, NASA identified it as cargo directly tied to Artemis III readiness. The same mission also carried broader exploration-support equipment, including the final pair of ISS Roll-Out Solar Arrays to strengthen station power for continued research, and return hardware for a failed Canadarm2 joint that will be analyzed on the ground. But the Artemis-specific preparation quietly riding to orbit was the collapsible contingency urinal test unit, essentially a practical life-support tool meant to improve crew operations on future Moon missions.

3 articles · Updated · FOX 35 Orlando · Oct 13

Photos and videos from across Florida captured a glowing "space jellyfish" after SpaceX launched NASA's CRS-35 Dragon resupply mission to the International Space Station at 6:33 a.m. Tuesday.
Sunlight reflecting off the rocket's exhaust high in the atmosphere produced the blue, purple and orange bulb-like cloud as the vehicle climbed after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The effect is most common during pre-sunrise launches, when the ground is still dark but the exhaust plume is already illuminated at higher altitude.
CRS-35 is NASA's 35th Commercial Resupply Services mission, carrying science experiments and supplies to the ISS.