A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a Dragon capsule (C211) at 1035 UTC Monday (Oct. 13) from Space Launch Complex 40(SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on the company's 35th Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-35) mission -- carrying 2,860 kilograms of cargo, including crew provisions, scientific equipment, and hardware -- to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Falcon 9 first-stage booster, B1096, on its eighth flight, returned to Landing Zone 40 near the launch site, producing sonic booms across Central Florida. And the uncrewed Dragon cargo spacecraft separated from the rocket’s second stage about nine minutes after liftoff, beginning its ~52-hour journey to the orbiting laboratory. C211 is on its fourth flight, previously serving CRS-26, CRS-29, and CRS-33 mission.

Dragon will reach the ISS on Thursday (Oct. 15), docking autonomously to the space-facing port of its Harmony module at around 1500 UTC.

The primary cargo of C211 is the final pair of International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs). These flexible solar panels, each generating 20 kilowatts, will complete the station’s power system augmentation, boosting electricity for ongoing research, routine operations, and the station’s eventual controlled deorbit in 2030. Astronauts from the Crew-13 mission are scheduled to install these arrays during spacewalks later in the fall.

The Dragon capsule transported several key experiments to support health research on Earth, including hardware to manufacture retinal tissue in microgravity to aid vision restoration research; brain organoids to investigate potential treatments for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and multiple sclerosis; and 3D heart tissue models for drug testing and studies on the formation of unconventional glass in microgravity.

Dragon "will deliver hardware to manufacture artificial retinas in microgravity to help restore vision on Earth and 3D heart tissue models to advance large‑scale drug testing on future missions," NASA officials wrote in a CRS-35 launch preview on Oct. 7. "The spacecraft will carry materials to study how a new type of glass forms in microgravity and brain organoids that could reveal treatment targets for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis."

Dragon will remain attached to the ISS for about one month before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean in mid-November, returning scientific samples and hardware such as a failed Canadarm2 joint for analysis. Unlike Russia's Progress, Japan's HTV-X and Northrop Grumman's Cygnus XL which are all expendable, burning up in Earth's atmosphere after their time at the ISS, Dragon is the only currently operational freighter that can return cargo to Earth.

A missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh over the weekend killed 12 people and injured over 309, including one American citizen confirmed by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one each from the US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, and Sudan.

The blast struck inside the main Terminal 3 building with no prior warning from Saudi threat systems. Witnesses described an explosion, a collapsed ceiling near a departure gate, and people injured on the ground.

Thick smoke and fires were observed across the airfield, and flight operations were suspended while damages to passenger terminals and airside infrastructure were assessed. It was the deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab country since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began in February 2026.

Dozens of ambulances rushed to the scene; hospitals were flooded with wounded, some in critical condition. All flights were diverted or cancelled, and operations were suspended. Western governments including US, UK, Germany, Australia, Canada immediately warned citizens to avoid the airport.

The EU Aviation Safety Agency expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, noting the Houthis' demonstrated ability to strike deep inside the kingdom.

The Houthis (Ansar Allah) had not formally claimed Saturday's strike by the time reports were filed, though a senior Houthi official said the militia was responsible. The Saudi-led coalition blamed the Houthis and called it a "full-fledged war crime."

The Saudi-led coalition vowed a "firm" response. Major General Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, confirmed counter-strikes targeting Houthi weapons depots, launch pads, and ballistic missile storage sites across Yemen, including Saada, Hodeidah, and Marib.

The Houthis had already claimed two earlier strikes on the same airport that week — one on Wednesday that killed three and wounded 36, and one on Thursday, a ballistic missile attack announced by Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree, that killed three Saudis including a Saudia Airlines captain and heavily damaged a parked commercial aircraft.

The Iran-backed Yemeni group launched their intensified campaign against Saudi targets -- airports, oil facilities, tankers -- after a truce in Yemen's civil war unraveled in July 2026. On October 5, the Houthis declared Saudi airspace a military zone, warning that civilian aircraft were no longer safe.

The Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against the Houthis on Monday, October 6, in support of the Yemeni government's ground war. The Houthis responded with the escalating missile campaign.

The Houthis had seized control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait two weeks prior, blocking Saudi-linked commercial traffic.

UN envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that Yemen had lapsed back into "full-scale war." President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis, saying "We may. We move very quickly."

Rubio condemned Saturday's attacks and confirmed the American death.

“The United States strongly condemns the recent attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the terrorist Houthis, including today’s strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that took numerous innocent lives, including an American citizen,” he wrote on X. “These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life. They must stop now. We stand with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people and extend our condolences to the victims and their families.”

The attack exposed significant vulnerabilities in Saudi air defense and is expected to increase pressure on allies, particularly the United States, to provide direct military support.

The strike on Riyadh comes amid a severe escalation across the Middle East involving the United States, Iran, and regional proxy networks. The Houthis have intensified long-range ballistic missile and drone operations against cross-border Gulf infrastructure and maritime traffic passing through regional waterways.

Tim Kennedy 47-year-old former UFC middleweight and U.S. Army Green Beret, was reportedly shot three times in the leg during an ambush on September 17, 2026, in the South Kivu province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo(DRC). He was part of a three-man private military contracting team working for Vectus Global, the security firm led by Erik Prince, founder of Blackwater.

Sources reportedly suggest the attack may have been carried out by Rwandan forces backing the M23 rebels, potentially after tracking a surveillance drone. The team was conducting a "ground-clearing operation" to protect mining revenues, combat smuggling, and collect taxes for the Congolese government, part of a US$700 million agreement between Prince and Kinshasa.

The ambush resulted in approximately 20 dead or wounded, including: Justin Conaglen, a former New Zealand Special Air Service (NZSAS) lance corporal and at least seven Congolese nationals and local villagers who were killed; and one unnamed foreign contractor, who was wounded.

Kennedy underwent an eight-hour evacuation before being medevaced to the U.S. Following the hasty extraction of casualties from the danger zone, Kennedy was medically evacuated out of Africa. He was flown back to the United States and admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington, D.C., for treatment.

Neither Kennedy, Prince, nor the Pentagon has issued an official public confirmation or statement.

Kennedy was working as a contractor for Vectus Global, a private security and logistics firm founded by Prince (the founder of the controversial private military company Blackwater).

Prince's forces and contractors have been operating in parts of Africa, including supporting Congolese military operations and deploying tactical assets, such as drones, to push back rebel advances.

The region has been a volatile hotspot experiencing intense fighting between Congolese government forces and the M23 rebel group which has faced accusations of receiving support from neighboring Rwanda.