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SpaceX Successfully Launches, Recovers Falcon 9 For CRS-12 (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the here-we-go-again dept.

Another SpaceX rocket has been successfully launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center today, carrying a Dragon capsule loaded with over 6,400 pounds of cargo destined for the International Space Station. This marks an even dozen for ISS resupply missions launched by SpaceX under contract to NASA. TechCrunch reports: The rocket successfully launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 12:31 PM EDT, and Dragon deployed from the second stage as planned. Dragon will rendezvous with the ISS on August 16 for capture by the station's Canadarm 2 robotic appendage, after which it'll be attached to the rocket. After roughly a month, it'll return to Earth after leaving the ISS with around 3,000 pounds of returned cargo on board, and splash down in the Pacific Ocean for recovery. There's another reason this launch was significant, aside from its experimental payload (which included a supercomputer designed to help humans travel to Mars): SpaceX will only use re-used Dragon capsules for all future CRS missions, the company has announced, meaning this is the last time a brand new Dragon will be used to resupply the ISS, if all goes to plan. Today's launch also included an attempt to recover the Falcon 9 first stage for re-use at SpaceX's land-based LZ-1 landing pad. The Falcon 9 first stage returned to Earth as planned, and touched down at Cape Canaveral roughly 9 minutes after launch.

6 of 71 comments (clear)

  1. Getting kinda old news by NEDHead · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Which is what I always had hoped for the shuttle program

    1. Re:Getting kinda old news by crashumbc · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually the shuttle spent MANY years as old hat. It after the first 3-4 years it only really made the news 3 times. The two explosions and the last missions.

    2. Re:Getting kinda old news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      You forgot Hubble dude. The Hubble Space Telescope (OK, and parts of the ISS too) was the crowning achievement of the shuttle.

    3. Re:Getting kinda old news by haruchai · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually the shuttle spent MANY years as old hat. It after the first 3-4 years it only really made the news 3 times. The two explosions and the last missions.

      That's too bad because it proved to be a very expensive antique hat, on the order of $500 MILLION PER LAUNCH!!
      Much as I liked the idea of the shuttle, in the end the costs were much too high

      --
      Pain is merely failure leaving the body
  2. Pounds? Don't you mean kilograms? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Why is the Cargo measured in Pounds when everything else spacey is in metric?

    1. Re: Pounds? Don't you mean kilograms? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Because it's American. Europeans coming to a foreign site insulting the local culture is immature and rude. Why do all of you feel the need to do this? We don't visit your websites and insult you for continuing to pronounce Aluminum wrong. Please kindly go invent your own reusable rocket system and then you can feel free to measure its payload capacity with whatever units you prefer.