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SpaceX launches its first reused cargo ship

SpaceX Falcon 9 launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Florida. (NASA TV)

SpaceX took one more step in its campaign for rocket reusability today by sending a previously flown Dragon cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station for the first time.

If all goes well, it should mark the first space station rendezvous for a reused spaceship since the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet in 2011.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 5:07 p.m. ET (2:07 p.m. PT) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An earlier countdown on Thursday had to be called off when a lightning storm struck too close to the launch pad.

It was the 100th launch from Pad 39A, which has been the starting point for space journeys going back to the Apollo moon shots.

Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president of mission assurance, said that he was “super-happy, as always, after a good launch” – and that it felt great to be a part of Pad 39A’s 100th launch.

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SpaceX Dragon makes picture-perfect splash

SpaceX Dragon descent
SpaceX’s Dragon capsule floats toward a Pacific Ocean splashdown. (SpaceX Photo)

SpaceX’s robotic Dragon capsule brought tons of cargo back down to Earth from the International Space Station today, in a trip that ended with a Pacific Ocean splashdown.

The trip began early today when astronauts used the station’s robotic arm to pull the Dragon away from its port and position it for the automated descent.

Over the past few weeks, the crew unloaded about 5,500 pounds of scientific experiments and supplies from the capsule, which arrived nearly a month ago, and loaded it back up with research samples and other cargo destined for return.

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SpaceX reveals plan for round-the-moon trip

SpaceX Crew Dragon
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule. (Credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX says it’s making plans to send two private citizens around the moon late next year – using its yet-to-be-flown Falcon Heavy rocket and its crew-capable Dragon capsule, which is still under development.

The would-be fliers have not been identified, but they have already paid a “significant deposit” for the trip, SpaceX said today in its announcement of the mission.

The Falcon Heavy would lift off from SpaceX’s launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and put the Dragon spacecraft on a free-return trajectory that would loop far beyond the moon and then come back to Earth without any attempt at a lunar landing.

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SpaceX ship hooks up with station a day late

SpaceX Dragon
The International Space Station’s robotic arm is positioned to capture SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule. (ESA / NASA Photo / Thomas Pesquet)

SpaceX’s robotic Dragon capsule has made a trouble-free cargo delivery to the International Space Station, one day after a navigational glitch forced a rare wave-off.

Astronauts used the station’s robotic arm to bring in the Dragon for its attachment to a port on the Harmony module at 5:12 a.m. PT today.

“Today was smooth sailing all the way along,” NASA spokesman Rob Navias said after the hookup. “A perfect vehicle for SpaceX, as it arrived right on time.”

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SpaceX has to try again for Dragon hookup

SpaceX Dragon
A SpaceX Dragon capsule flies in orbit during an earlier resupply mission. (NASA Photo)

NASA and SpaceX had to call off today’s planned arrival of a robotic Dragon cargo spaceship at the International Space Station today due to a navigational glitch.

“Dragon’s onboard computers triggered the abort after recognizing an incorrect value in navigational data about the location of Dragon relative to the space station,” NASA said in an online update. “Flight controllers immediately began planning for a second rendezvous attempt on Thursday, Feb. 23.”

SpaceX said its commercial cargo transport ship was “in good health,” and NASA said the space station’s crew was in good shape as well. One of the crew members, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, tweeted some consoling words about the wave-off.

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SpaceX launches from historic moon pad

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from Launch Complex 39A. (NASA via YouTube)

SpaceX sent a rocket rising from NASA’s historic Launch Complex 39A today for the first time since the space shuttle fleet retired, marking a new chapter for a pad that served as the springboard for Apollo moon missions.

The Falcon 9 rocket sent a robotic Dragon capsule toward the International Space Station with almost 5,500 pounds of supplies and experiments, under the terms of SpaceX’s multimillion-dollar contract with NASA.

As a bonus, the rocket’s first-stage booster flew itself back to a perfect touchdown at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1, not far from the Kennedy Space Center launch site in Florida. That’s part of SpaceX’s plan for reusing hardware and driving down the cost of space launches even further.

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Dragon brings cargo from orbit with a splash

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SpaceX’s Dragon pulls away from the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA TV)

SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean today, carrying more than 3,000 pounds of cargo and science samples back down to Earth from the International Space Station.

NASA’s Kate Rubins and Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi worked with the station’s robotic arm to pull the Dragon away from its berth and set it free at 3:11 a.m. PT. “Dragon depart successfully commanded,” Rubins reported.

Mission Control passed along thanks to the crew for their efforts, “and to the Dragon recovery team, fair winds and following seas.”

Over the five and a half hours that followed, SpaceX confirmed that the capsule successfully executed its deorbiting maneuvers and made a parachute-assisted splashdown, about 300 miles southwest of Baja California.

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SpaceX delivers new door to space station

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SpaceX’s Dragon is firmly in the grip of the International Space Station’s robotic arm during the berthing operation. (Credit: NASA TV)

Two days after its launch, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule was pulled in for its hookup to the International Space Station today as the spacecraft soared 252 miles above the California-Oregon state line.

Among the nearly 5,000 pounds of cargo were the first DNA sequencer destined for use in space, and a 5-foot-wide docking adapter that will accommodate future commercial space taxis – including an upgraded version of the uncrewed Dragon that pulled in today.

“We’ve captured us a Dragon,” said NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, who grappled the capsule with the station’s robotic arm. “We look forward to the work it brings.”

Dragon’s arrival marked the week’s second orbital delivery: A robotic Russian Progress cargo ship docked with the station on Monday night, bringing another 5,300 pounds of food, water, air, propellant and other supplies. It’ll take weeks to unload all the goodies.

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SpaceX rocket lifts off, comes back with a boom

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SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from its Florida launch pad. (Credit: NASA)

SpaceX launched a Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station tonight with a couple of precedent-setting payloads on opposite ends of the size spectrum: a 5-foot-wide docking adapter, which was built by Boeing to accommodate future commercial space taxis; and the first DNA sequencer destined for use in space, which is about the size of a candy bar.

The Falcon 9 rocket rose into the night at 12:45 a.m. ET Monday (9:45 p.m. PT Sunday) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Minutes later, the Falcon 9’s second stage and the uncrewed Dragon separated from the first stage and continued on to orbit. Meanwhile, the first stage flew itself back to Florida’s Space Coast and touched down at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1, near the launch pad.

“LZ-1, Falcon 9 has landed,” SpaceX’s mission control announced. The news was greeted with whoops and hollers from hundreds of SpaceX employees who gathered at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.

Floridians heard a thunderous sonic boom as the booster descended.

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SpaceX Dragon returns year-in-space samples

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SpaceX’s Dragon capsule descends toward the Pacific at the end of its parachutes. (Credit: SpaceX)

A month after delivering an expandable prototype habitat and other goodies to the International Space Station, SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean today  with tons of equipment and scientific samples.

Among the roughly 3,700 pounds of cargo are freezers containing blood, saliva, urine and stool samples from astronaut Scott Kelly, who served as an experimental subject during a nearly yearlong stint on the station. Those samples will be studied to see how long-term spaceflight affected Kelly’s metabolic functions, including the function of the gut bacteria in his bowels.

The results could affect how NASA plans for even longer journeys to Mars and other deep-space destinations.

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