And its success for SpaceX again. The company has managed to send off a dragon spacecraft that is now en-route to the International Space Station. What’s more, the company has also managed to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket at its Cape Canaveral pad.
The rocket took off at 9:39 ET. The Falcon 9 rocket was launched from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A, which in case you are unaware of it, is the same one that was used for the historic Apollo mission to the Moon. The rocket carried along a cargo ship with almost 5,500 pounds worth of supplies and experiments for the International Space Station. However, that was not the most interesting thing about the launch.
Once the rocket was in the air, the first stage separated and begin making its way back to the earth. Marking the 8th time that SpaceX managed the feat, the rocket successfully landed on a pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The launch came after SpaceX shut down yesterday’s mission merely 13 seconds before liftoff, due to perceived problems in the upper stage’s steering system. The issue was fixed and the rocket cleared for launch today despite less than optimum weather conditions.
Meanwhile, SpaceX was not the only one keeping an eagle’s eye on today’s launch. NASA had also been ascertaining the launch closely. After all, NASA has hired SpaceX to send cargos of experiments and other supplies to the International Space Station. What is more, the company will also — hopefully! — transport NASA astronauts to the space station and back in the future. Meanwhile, today’s launch can be taken as the final signal that SpaceX is back in business again.
