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The company's 31st rocket of the year was launched early Tuesday and will carry a used Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station.
A new two-stage Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 5:07 a.m. The company's 24th cargo resupply mission to the space agency will begin at 10:00 am. The crew of the station is going to need a lot of supplies and equipment, and the Dragon is packed with a lot of it.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 returned to Earth after liftoff and landed on a ship in the Atlantic. The massive ship, called Just Read the Instructions, is one of the three drones that are designed to serve as floating landing platforms and return them to port for later reuse.
There it is! The first landing for this particular booster is the 100th successful landing for an Orbital class rocket, said Andy Train, a production supervisor. It was a great way to end the year.
How the Dragon space capsule works.
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A new Falcon 9 rocket and a previously flown Cargo Dragon spacecraft stand atop Pad 39B of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of a planned Dec. 21, 2021 launch to the International Space Station. The image is from the SpaceX.
The Just Read The Instructions is a ship that was used to land the Dragon cargo ship for NASA from Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The image is from the SpaceX.
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A new Falcon 9 rocket and a previously flown Cargo Dragon spacecraft stand atop Pad 39B of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of a planned Dec. 21, 2021 launch to the International Space Station. The image is from the SpaceX.
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The Just Read The Instructions is a ship that was used to land the Dragon cargo ship for NASA from Pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The image is from the SpaceX.
Dragon is going to dock with the station at 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, just 24 hours after liftoff. Just over 24 hours after the launch. The Dragon will dock in the space station and be monitored by two NASA astronauts. You can watch the docking on NASA TV at 3 a.m. The time is 0800 GMT.
The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron predicted bad weather for the mission's first launch attempt, with the main concerns being thick clouds and the electric field rule. The rocket got off the ground on time.
The clouds that hung over the space coast made for good acoustics as the roar of the engines thundered overhead.
The first-stage booster featured in today's flight, known as B1069, was a first-time flier, making its launch debut, while its Dragon counterpart has already flown once before as part of theCRS-22 mission earlier this year.
The first stage of the rocket returned to Earth after the liftoff, marking the 100th recovery of the first stage since 2015.
There is a new video of a rocket ace landing on a ship.
The last dragon launch is in 2021.
This year, five of the six Dragon spaceships have traveled to the space station and back. The other carried the crew into space for a three-day mission.
It's packed with a treasure trove of science equipment and supplies, as well as festive delights such as turkey and fruitcake, for the crew, and Christmas presents for the astronauts.
"We're going to have some gifts for the crew, and we're going to fly some special food for Christmas dinner," said the program manager for NASA during a pre-launch news briefing on Monday. Everyone's favorite fruit cake, turkey, and green beans are included.
A variety of medical equipment that will benefit astronauts and people on Earth are onboard. The Bioprint FirstAid will demonstrate how a handheld device can print a Band-Aid using the astronauts own skin cells.
This type of patch can help speed up the healing process as well as mitigate any wound healing issues that could crop up during spaceflight. It could provide safer, more flexible healing anywhere on Earth, even in remote areas.
The Dragon cargo ship is seen as it separates from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, which is carrying it to the International Space Station. It will arrive on December 22, 2021. The image is from the SpaceX.
The Host-Pathogen experiment will look at cells taken from various crew members at various stages during flight to assess how microbes affect the body's immune response. Researchers will expose the samples collected to both normal andbacteria that have been exposed to spaceflight. This could lead to an immune system boost for astronauts during spaceflight and more effective care for patients with compromised immune systems.
The Multi-Variable Plant Platform will monitor the development of plant roots and shoots in microgravity as part of an effort to understand how plants adapt to changes in their environments. The research could help growers create plants that are more resistant to environmental changes.
There are more than 6,500 pounds of cargo that will help the astronauts perform a variety of research experiments as well as help to replenish the station.
There have been a total of eight different cargo ships, five crew missions, and two different space tourist groups on the station this year. The other carried a Japanese billionaire and his assistant on a journey to the International Space Station.
The delivery of two different Russian modules as well as the installation of a new set of solar panels will help increase the power to the outpost, with two more to be installed next year.
Montalbano said a huge thanks to the team around the globe for what they've been able to accomplish. The teams have been outstanding, as you know, we work and operate around constraints.
The rocket records are from the 9.
Sarah Walker, the Dragon mission manager for the company said that it had been a record-breaking year. This is the 31st and final launch of the year, putting us above the 26 launches we completed last year.
It is the 100th successful recovery of a first-stage booster for the company. On the anniversary of the very first recovery, the milestone landing occurred for the rockets.
In order to keep up with the high launch cadence, the company relies on a fleet of rockets. The company can refly its recovered boosters many times over, instead of using a brand-new rocket each time.
Only two of the 31 launches were on brand new rockets, the rest were on one of the flight-proven boosters. A set of upgrades the Falcon 9 received in 2018, as well as a fleet of drones to catch the returning boosters, have helped to make that happen.
"Of course I Still Love You," "Just Read the Instructions" and the newest ship on the block, "A Shortfall of Gravitas" are all at the disposal of the company.
The company recently transferred its most prolific ship, "Of Course I Still Love You", to the West Coast where it will be used to facilitate recovery operations for missions that launch from the California-based launch pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
That enabled the company to launch a total of three rockets in less than 72 hours. For the first time in company history, all three of the company's massive drones were stationed in the ocean.
The booster featured in today's flight is the most recent rocket to join the fleet of veteran rockets. The booster will be inspected after it is off loaded.
Dragon will spend the next day chasing down the space station before it docks itself to the outpost.
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