After cancelling Saturday's launch a mere 13 seconds before takeoff due to slightly odd readouts from an upper stage engine steering hydraulic piston, SpaceX successfully launched the CRS-10 mission on Sunday.
This is an uncrewed resupply mission contracted by NASA and it was SpaceX's first launch from the Kennedy Space Center's 39A pad in Florida. This is the same launch pad that was used by Apollo and Space Shuttle missions so this location carries a lot of history with it.
The launch was successful and the Dragon spacecraft is currently adjusting its orbit to be able to dock to the ISS on Tuesday or Wednesday.
But these days perhaps the most exciting part about rocket launches it not the actual launch but what happens afterwards! Falcon 9 successfully landed at the ground-based Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, marking three successful landing attempts at this location. SpaceX is building up a decent track record of being able to recover its rockets, in total SpaceX has recovered eight boosters and the first mission using a recovered booster is expected as early as March.
Here is spectacular footage from yesterday's Falcon 9 landing:
SpaceX CRS-10 spacecraft on its way to resupply ISS, rocket lands successful
Posted on Monday, February 20 2017 @ 14:55 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck