The launch will be livestreamed on SpaceX’s dedicated page.
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SpaceX will once again attempt to launch a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) tonight, 12:45 AM Eastern Time – a crucial step for the commercial space industry in the United States.
According to a story published on the topic by Space Coast Daily, “The Dragon and its cargo will fly into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will take about 10 minutes to lift the spacecraft from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to an orbit to catch up with the station”.
A stunning long exposure image posted online by SpaceX through its Twitter account shows the trails of the Falcon 9 taking off and landing at the site just eight minutes later. But the hangar can only store up to five Falcon 9 rockets at a time.
Floridians heard a thunderous sonic boom as the booster descended. Second and third landings on vessels (on January 17, 2016 and on March 14, 2016) were not successful; third (April 8), fourth (May 6) and fifth (May 27) were conducted with success (fifth attempt finished with broken stabilizing leg of the booster).
“A really good day”, observed Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for SpaceX.
It first accomplished the feat in December 2015, as part of the California-based company’s ongoing effort to re-use costly rocket parts instead of jettisoning them into the ocean.
Following the launch, the rocket separated, sending the cargo to orbit. This time around, the Dragon was upgraded with a launch abort system that was created to save the capsule and its payload even if the rocket failed.
SpaceX had tried to deliver one global docking adapter a year ago, but the equipment was destroyed during a launch accident. The first such space taxi could be ready for a space station visit as early as next year.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft loaded with materials for the orbiting laboratory and its crew will also deliver the key docking adaptor, a metallic ring big enough for astronauts and cargo to fit through. NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, a biologist who moved into the station earlier this month, will test the device with prepared DNA samples from a type of bacteria, a virus and a mouse during her stint in orbit.
Other experiments aboard the Dragon are created to study how heart cells and bone cells behave in zero gravity, how to build computers that are more resilient to space radiation, and how to improve the efficiency of space solar cells.
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“Each commercial resupply flight to the space station is a significant event”. Only hours are separating us from beginning of the CRS-9 mISSion to International Space Station.
