{"id":13806,"date":"2018-05-10T21:53:41","date_gmt":"2018-05-10T13:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/photos-falcon-9-block-5-poised-for-launch-at-kennedy-space-center\/"},"modified":"2018-05-10T21:53:41","modified_gmt":"2018-05-10T13:53:41","slug":"photos-falcon-9-block-5-poised-for-launch-at-kennedy-space-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/photos-falcon-9-block-5-poised-for-launch-at-kennedy-space-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Photos: Falcon 9 Block 5 poised for launch at Kennedy Space Center"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX\u2019s first upgraded Falcon 9 \u201cBlock 5\u201d rocket was raised vertical at launch pad 39A early Thursday in preparation for liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, debuting enhancements aimed at making the booster more reusable and more reliable.<\/p>\n<p>Standing more than 20 stories tall, the Falcon 9 Block 5 is the latest, and SpaceX says the final, major upgrade to the workhorse commercial rocket. Poised for launch atop the Falcon 9 rocket is Bangabandhu 1, Bangladesh\u2019s first communications satellite.<\/p>\n<p>Changes to the Block 5 version rocket include new thermal coatings, retractable landing legs, and safety modifications needed for future launches with astronauts on-board.<\/p>\n<p>Launch from pad 39A at KSC is set for a window opening at 4:12 p.m. EDT (2012 GMT) and closing at 6:22 p.m. EDT (2222 GMT) Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>See our Mission Status Center for updates and details on the launch.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32341\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32341\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32341\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-1652-678x452.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-1652-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-1652-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-1652-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-1652.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32341\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Walter Scriptunas II\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32342\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32342\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32342\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3229-678x1017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"1017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3229-678x1017.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3229-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3229-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3229.jpg 1365w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32342\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Walter Scriptunas II\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32343\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32343\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32343\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3242-678x452.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3242-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3242-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3242-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/WVWS_Falcon-9-3242.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32343\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Walter Scriptunas II\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32345\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32345\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32345\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3702-3-copy-678x452.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3702-3-copy-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3702-3-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3702-3-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3702-3-copy.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32345\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Stephen Clark\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32346\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32346\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32346\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3695-1-copy-678x449.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"449\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3695-1-copy-678x449.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3695-1-copy-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3695-1-copy-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3695-1-copy.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32346\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Stephen Clark\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32347\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32347\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32347\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3676-1-copy-678x452.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3676-1-copy-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3676-1-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3676-1-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3676-1-copy.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32347\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Stephen Clark\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32348\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32348\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32348\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3655-2-copy-678x1017.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"1017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3655-2-copy-678x1017.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3655-2-copy-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3655-2-copy-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3655-2-copy.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32348\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Stephen Clark\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32349\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32349\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32349\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3633-2-copy-678x452.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3633-2-copy-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3633-2-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3633-2-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3633-2-copy.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32349\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Stephen Clark\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_32350\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32350\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-32350\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3622-2-copy-678x452.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3622-2-copy-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3622-2-copy-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3622-2-copy-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/IMG_3622-2-copy.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-32350\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: Stephen Clark\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><b><i>Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SpaceX\u2019s first upgraded Falcon 9 \u201cBlock 5\u201d rocket was raised vertical at launch pad 39A early Thursday in preparation for liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, debuting enhancements aimed at making the booster more reusable and more reliable. Standing more than 20 stories tall, the Falcon 9 Block 5 is the latest, and SpaceX says [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2953,2963,291,479,1428,25,1702,2376],"class_list":["post-13806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-bangabandhu-1","tag-bangladesh","tag-commercial-space","tag-falcon-9","tag-falcon-9-block-5","tag-launch","tag-launch-pad-39a","tag-spacebus-4000b2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13806"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13806\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}