SpaceX, the private aerospace company that broke through to the mainstream for landing its Falcon 9 rocket on a football-field-sized “droneship” off the coast of Florida, landed a rocket back on terra firma very early Monday. Other photos released by SpaceX show closer, more detailed views of the Falcon 9 rocket taking off and landing.
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SpaceX is building astronaut-worthy versions of its Dragon cargo ships, while Boeing – which makes the docking ports – is working on a crew capsule called Starliner. A second port is due to be delivered in 2017.
Also aboard the capsule was a metal docking ring 2.4m in diameter, to be attached to the station, letting commercial spaceships under development by SpaceX and Boeing ferry astronauts to the station, a $100bn laboratory that flies about 400km above Earth. While they have yet to re-use a recovered rocket, Musk has recently stated that they are aiming for a reflight in September/ October timeframe.
SpaceX is a rocket company that designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The reusable rocket landed vertically just a few miles from the launch site, the fifth such vertical landing for SpaceX, which is owned and operated by Elon Musk.
“With equipment to enable novel experiments never attempted before in space, and an global docking adapter vital to the future of USA commercial crew spacecraft, we’re thrilled this Dragon has successfully taken flight”.
SpaceX’s Dragon cargo craft was successfully launched at 10.15 a.m (India time) on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The last one went up in smoke over the Atlantic past year.
The Dragon’s cargo includes a 1,000-pound docking ring that is key to a resumption of astronaut launches from USA soil, which ended with the shuttle’s retirement in 2011.
Nasa’s space station programme manager Kirk Shireman said he had been “sweating bullets” at lift-off, as Nasa wants the docking port “up there safe and sound” as soon as possible.
This time, however, SpaceX was confident that it would enough fuel for another try at a landing on the ground.
Dragon is scheduled to leave ISS on August 29 and subsequently splash down in the Pacific Ocean with more than 3,300 pounds of science, hardware, crew supplies and spacewalk tools.
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The company has made history following a successful landing of another Falcon 9 rocket this week.
