SpaceX launches cargo ship to International Space Station
The International Space Station-bound SpaceX Cargo Dragon is loaded with 6,500 pounds of needed equipment, research gear and crew supplies.
Running three days late because of bad weather, the Dragon's Falcon 9 booster roared to life at 6:05 p.m. ET, blasting off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and arcing away to the northeast in line with the station's orbit.
Two and a half minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first stage, making its sixth flight, fell away and flew itself back to an on-target touchdown on a landing pad near the launch gantry. The second stage continued the climb to orbit, releasing the Cargo Dragon to fly on its own nine minutes and 20 seconds after launch.
It was SpaceX's 638th Falcon 9 launch since the rocket's debut in 2010, the company's 56th such flight so far this year and its 611th successful booster recovery.
"This will be the first Cargo Dragon spacecraft to head to the station for a sixth time, so a great milestone there," said Bill Spetch, ISS operations integration manager at the Johnson Space Center. "We're sending over 6,000 pounds of hardware, supplies, science experiments and more to our Expedition 74 crew.
"This mission includes everything from water purification hardware to research that helps us better understand space weather," Spetch said.