SpaceX Successfully Launches CRS-13 Mission To The ISS
SpaceX successfully launched and landed its flight-proven Falcon 9 rocket carrying a reused Dragon capsule Friday afternoon from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This marks the 17th successful mission for the commercial spaceflight company this year.
The payload was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) carrying 4,800 pounds of cargo in what was the 13th commercial resupply mission (CRS-13). The Dragon spacecraft was carrying supplies crucial to the operations of the ISS, food and beverages for the crew, and 34 new experiments that will be conducted in the orbital lab.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on schedule at 10:36 a.m Eastern. It put the Dragon into orbit and successfully detached from the capsule at 10:39 a.m, and safely touched back down on Landing Zone 1, in Cape Canaveral Florida at 10:44 a.m.
The Dragon capsule is expected to arrive to the ISS on Sunday. The capsule doesn’t go directly to the ISS, as it takes a series of burns to get closer and closer to the orbiting station. Once it’s close enough, the ISS will use a robotic arm snatch it up and allow it to dock.
This is a historical launch for both SpaceX and NASA as it is the first time both rocket and capsule are recycled from previous missions. The Falcon 9 booster was first used during CRS-11 mission this past June and the Dragon capsule was first used during the CRS-6 mission in April 2015.
The ability to reuse these capsules and rockets will save about $120 million, which is how much it’d cost to build another Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft. This launch was a monumental step toward realizing SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s vision of fully reusable spacecrafts.
Friday’s launch comes after the deployment of Koreasat-5A on October 30th. The next launch will take place in January and will use SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy booster, most powerful operational rocket.
Photos via Getty Images / Bill Ingalls/NASA
Photos via Getty Images / Bill Ingalls/NASA
Written by Danny Paez
More articles by Danny • Follow Danny on Twitter
