According to Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president for mission assurance, SpaceX is intending to launch one of it recovered rockets as early as autumn this year.
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“Everything, from the science to the spare hardware and crew supplies, is vital for sustaining our mission”, Kirk Shireman, NASA’s International Space Station Program manager stated in a news release issued by NASA.
Perched on top of the rocket was a Dragon capsule filled with almost 2268 kg of food, supplies and equipment, including a miniature DNA sequencer, the first to fly in space. Shortly afterwards, the first stage Falcon 9 booster flew back to Cape Canaveral, where it landed at Landing Zone 1. For that first launch, SpaceX plans to use the rocket it landed in April – the first vehicle to land successfully on one of the company’s drone ships. It now has five recovered first stage rockets awaiting re-use stored in a hangar at Launch Complex 39A, a spaceport SpaceX leases from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Meanwhile, SpaceX hopes to reuse the Falcon 9 and other rockets to shave launch costs.
When it does, it will be SpaceX’s ninth successful mission bringing cargo to astronauts there under its commercial contract with NASA.
The success was SpaceX’s second attempt at sending a new style docking port for NASA. It is reported that NASA will launch a new type of crew capsules next year and the agency is preparing the ISS to receive such advancements.
The 58-foot robotic arm of the space station will retrieve the IDA from the Dragon cargo ship and spacewalkers will complete the installation of the adapter in August.
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station can expect a delivery in two days, courtesy of SpaceX. The SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner capsules will ease this Russian dependency.
The latest SpaceX rocket launch carried a Dragon capsule packed with food and supplies for the six crew members working on the International Space Station. The first was in December, NASA said.
CRS-9 includes instruments to perform the first-ever DNA sequencing in space, and the first worldwide docking adapter for commercial spacecraft. Since then, it had three successful landings on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. Please see our terms of service for more information.
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SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk wants to refly his rockets to shave launch costs.
