A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launched on Saturday from Kennedy Space Center on the 52nd successful flight of the year from the Space Coast. The CRS-26 mission left Launch Track 39-A at 2:20 PM to resupply the International Space Station.

The brand new Dragon cargo spacecraft is carrying 7,700 pounds of food, research and supplies to the station, including a pair of solar panels deployed to power it.

“Everyone is looking forward to the start of the science once the docking has taken place,” said Jeff Arend of NASA’s ISS Systems Engineering and Integration Division.

This includes research that will allow the ISS crew to grow dwarf tomatoes as part of NASA’s plans to support the long-term needs of humans in space travel. A related study called BioNutrients-2 aimed to extract nutrients on demand using a combination of yogurt, yeast drink and kefir from a fermented milk beverage.

Several student-led experiments also fly in, including three payloads sponsored by Central Florida nonprofit SpaceKids Global and the Citrus Council of Girl Scouts. One of them will investigate how brine shrimp, also known as sea monkeys, behave in microgravity.

The first stage booster, which also made its maiden flight, managed to land the SpaceX Just Read the Instructions drone into the Atlantic Ocean. This is the 153rd time SpaceX has managed to recover a launch vehicle between Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches.

Space Coast launches are at a record pace, with 52 launches this year from KSC or the Space Force Station at Cape Canaveral with an average of more than one launch per week in just 47 weeks, and half a dozen more will be launched. December 31. Last year, Space Coast saw 31 launches.