{"id":14124,"date":"2017-12-15T19:08:58","date_gmt":"2017-12-15T11:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacexs-50th-falcon-rocket-launch-kicks-off-station-resupply-mission\/"},"modified":"2017-12-15T19:08:58","modified_gmt":"2017-12-15T11:08:58","slug":"spacexs-50th-falcon-rocket-launch-kicks-off-station-resupply-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacexs-50th-falcon-rocket-launch-kicks-off-station-resupply-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX\u2019s 50th Falcon rocket launch kicks off station resupply mission"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket takes off from Cape Canaveral Friday. Credit: NASA\/Tony Gray and Sandra Joseph<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A cache of cargo bound for the International Space Station lifted off on a commercial SpaceX launcher Friday, thundering into mostly clear skies over Florida\u2019s Space Coast aboard a reused booster that made a bullseye landing back at Cape Canaveral accompanied by a crackling sonic boom.<\/p>\n

Riding a column of brilliant flame from nine Merlin 1D main engines, the Falcon 9 rocket climbed away from Cape Canaveral\u2019s Complex 40 launch pad at 10:36:09 a.m. EST (1536:09 GMT) Friday, turning northeast over the Atlantic Ocean to align with the space station\u2019s orbital track.<\/p>\n

The launcher arced downrange from Florida\u2019s East Coast on 1.7 million pounds of thrust before its first stage booster \u2014 a re-flown stage recovered after a space station cargo launch June 3 \u2014 shut down and detached to begin a controlled descent back to Cape Canaveral.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Merlin engine on the rocket\u2019s expendable upper stage fired to propel a SpaceX-owned Dragon supply ship into orbit, commencing a two-day pursuit of the space station more than 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth.<\/p>\n

The Dragon capsule, also reused from a previous mission, deployed from the Falcon 9\u2019s upper stage around 10 minutes after liftoff. Live video from a forward-facing camera on the rocket showed the supply ship receding into space, and SpaceX officials said the capsule began pre-programmed activations, steps which included the extension of its power-generating solar panels and priming of its thrusters.<\/p>\n

Dragon\u2019s separation from the upper stage \u2014 the primary objective of Friday\u2019s launch \u2014 came two minutes after the Falcon 9\u2019s 14-story first stage booster made a pinpoint touchdown at Landing Zone 1, a concrete target around 6 miles (9 kilometers) down the coast from the rocket\u2019s point of origin at pad 40.<\/p>\n

Double sonic booms heralded the rocket\u2019s return as the stage\u2019s center engine fired to put the brakes on its free fall. Four landing legs unfurled from the base of the booster as it settled on the landing pad a few hundred feet from the beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a spectacular launch,\u201d said Ven Feng, manager of the ISS transportation integration office. \u201cAs a matter of fact, a spectacular launch and landing on this great morning here in Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cI must admit I had a little bit of deja vu as we sat here six months ago and watched a launch and landing very similar on this very same booster, so it was quite an achievement,\u201d Feng told reporters after the launch Friday.<\/p>\n

The unpiloted cargo mission departed Cape Canaveral a couple of weeks later than officials hoped. SpaceX attributed much of the delay to ensuring pad 40 was ready for the launch, which was the first to take off from the seaside launch complex since a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the pad in September 2016.<\/p>\n

The rocket left mangled debris and toxic wreckage strewn across the pad. Once SpaceX identified the cause of the catastrophic explosion \u2014 a rupture in the Falcon 9\u2019s upper stage helium pressurization system \u2014 launches resumed from pad 39A at the nearby Kennedy Space Center while crews rebuilt pad 40.<\/p>\n

Read more about the upgrades and repairs SpaceX made at pad 40 in our earlier story.<\/p>\n

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SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 first stage descends back to Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credit: James Murati<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX pushed back the launch from Wednesday to flush out contaminants found in the Falcon 9\u2019s second stage fuel tank. Technicians inspected the rocket\u2019s other propellant tanks to make sure they contained no unexpected debris before proceeding with Friday\u2019s countdown.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s rocket flight marked the 50th orbital launch attempt in SpaceX\u2019s 15-year history, a figure that counts the company\u2019s now-retired Falcon 1 booster. It was the 45th launch by a Falcon 9 rocket, and the 17th this year, a record for the commercial space company founded by billionaire Elon Musk.<\/p>\n

Forty-four of the 45 Falcon 9 flights have delivered their primary payloads into orbit, a record that does not count the on-pad accident last year.<\/p>\n

SpaceX has made major strides in its rocket reusability program this year, re-flying four recovered Falcon 9 first stages. The company\u2019s final planned flight of the year, scheduled for Dec. 22, will blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base powered by another reused booster.<\/p>\n

With the Falcon 9\u2019s first stage landing Friday, SpaceX has retrieved one of its boosters intact 20 times on offshore platforms and on land.<\/p>\n

The launch Friday was the first time NASA agreed to put cargo on a re-flown Falcon 9. Agency engineers spent months reviewing how SpaceX prepares a previously-flown booster for another mission, and three successful re-flights of different Falcon 9 rockets earlier this year gave officials added confidence in the plan.<\/p>\n

NASA officials said they will review the possibility of flying future space station cargo missions on reused rockets on a case-by-case basis. The agreement reached between NASA and SpaceX applied only to Friday\u2019s launch \u2014 the 13th Dragon resupply flight to head for the space station.<\/p>\n

SpaceX has two multibillion-dollar cargo delivery contracts with NASA for at least 26 logistics missions through 2024.<\/p>\n

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SpaceX\u2019s Dragon cargo craft flies away from the upper stage of its Falcon 9 rocket after arriving in orbit, kicking off a two-day pursuit of the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The commercial resupply run launched Friday carries 4,861 pounds (2,205 kilograms) of supplies and experiments inside the Dragon capsule, divided between an aft-mounted external cargo bay and a pressurized module, which itself was refurbished following a round-trip flight to the space station in April and May 2015.<\/p>\n

The cargo craft is scheduled to arrive at the station Sunday after a laser-guided final approach to the research outpost. Astronaut Mark Vande Hei will unlimber the station\u2019s Canadian-built robotic arm to capture the Dragon spacecraft around 6 a.m. EST (1100 GMT) Sunday, and the ship will be attached to research lab\u2019s Harmony module for unloading.<\/p>\n

The cargo load includes two NASA-sponsored experiments to monitor the sun\u2019s energy output, a key driver of Earth\u2019s climate, and measure the density and distribution of space junk in the space station\u2019s orbit. Both experiment packages will be mounted outside the station with the robot arm.<\/p>\n

Also on-board: A habitat containing 40 mice to be used as research subjects for scientists investigating the efficacy of a drug delivery system for patients on Earth with muscle atrophy, a miniature blood glucose monitor that could be used by people with diabetes, and two commercial investigations from Budweiser that will study how the microgravity environment on the space station affects barley.<\/p>\n

And the astronauts can expect a few treats, and perhaps some holiday gifts. But that\u2019s a surprise for the crew.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot confirm or deny the presence of Christmas presents on-board Dragon,\u201d said Kirk Shireman, NASA\u2019s space station program manager.<\/p>\n

The commercial cargo craft is scheduled to depart the station in mid-January and splash down in the Pacific Ocean with research specimens for analysis by scientists around the world.<\/p>\n

Email the author.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket takes off from Cape Canaveral Friday. Credit: NASA\/Tony Gray and Sandra Joseph A cache of cargo bound for the International Space Station lifted off on a commercial SpaceX launcher Friday, thundering into mostly clear skies over Florida\u2019s Space Coast aboard a reused booster that made a bullseye landing back at Cape […]<\/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":[291,1736,1395,479,717,1602,25,311],"class_list":["post-14124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-commercial-space","tag-complex-40","tag-dragon","tag-falcon-9","tag-international-space-station","tag-iss-cargo","tag-launch","tag-reusability"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14124"}],"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=14124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}