A weekend rocket launch will give people an additional reason to visit the Space Coast.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to deliver more than 4,000 pounds of food and supplies to the International Space Station. The launch is set for 10:21 a.m. Sunday from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

As of 7 a.m. Sunday, there is a 90 percent chance for favorable weather conditions at the time of launch.

Primary mission

Sunday's SpaceX launch will mark the start of the seventh contracted mission for NASA. The Falcon 9 rocket will deliver an unmanned Dragon capsule to the space station. The spacecraft is carrying supplies and payloads for the astronauts currently living in space.

A large, ring-shaped docking adapter is being carried up to the International Space Station. The docking adapter will allow crew vehicles designed by Boeing and SpaceX to connect to the space station in the years ahead.

Later this summer, astronauts are expected to conduct a spacewalk to install the docking adapter to one of the space station's outside ports.

"Once it's installed and, of course, after our commercial partners get fully reader, (the International Space Station) will be ready to accept a commercial crew vehicle," said Scott Stover, NASA's flight director. "So, we're very excited about having that capability brought on board."

The unmanned Dragon capsule will also carry a special camera to capture the first space-based observations of meteors entering Earth's atmosphere.

The launch on Sunday will also carry up experiments looking at combustion in microgravity, crew health risks and how to grow food in space.

This will be the first cargo delivery to the space station since a Russian Progress vehicle spun out of control earlier this year.

The Progress spacecraft never made it to the space station.

Astronauts have enough food and supplies on board to survive without the cargo delivery ship.

Secondary mission

SpaceX will use a new unmanned ship as a landing pad for tis first-stage booster. After the rocket separates and the Dragon is on its way to the space station, SpaceX will attempt to land the first-stage booster on the floating ship.

The first-stage booster will deploy grid finds to steer it.

Cold-gas thrusters will be used to flip the rocket upright. As the rocket makes its way back to Earth, landing legs will be deployed in an effort to help it land on the ship.

Previous attempts to land a Falcon 9 rocket on the floating ship have come close, but the rockets have exploded upon impact.

The goal is to prove SpaceX can safely land its rockets on the floating vessel, which is called the autonomous spaceport drone ship.

The company is already developing a "landing" pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. SpaceX hopes that after some successful attempts on the ship, the company will be able to safely land the rocket on the pad.

SpaceX wants to land the rockets so it can be reused to drive down launch costs.

Launch party

There are several locations to watch Sunday's launch attempt.

The Space Coast Office of Tourism is hosting a launch party at Space View Park in Titusville.

It is part of the county and state's effort to bring more visitors to Brevard County for rocket launch. The Space View Park party will feature freebies.

Some other good viewing locations including Playalinda Beach, the State Road 528 causeway, Port Canaveral and the beaches along Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach.