SpaceX has launched its Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s Cargo capsule to the International Space Station. The flight took off from the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A on Sunday morning, first time for the SpaceX. The launch complex was used in Apollo 11 mission to send first humans to moon back in 1969 and then it was used in 2011 to launch a space shuttle.
The rocket was initially set for Saturday launch but the flight was halted seconds before the launch because of some “slightly odd” thrust control problem. “All systems go, except the movement trace of an upper stage engine steering hydraulic piston was slightly odd,” described SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk. However, 39A finally made a comeback on Sunday Morning with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launch.
The Dragon Cargo capsule is set to arrive at the international space station on Wednesday. The capsule will be orbiting the earth for couple of days until it reaches the space station. As soon as its gets closer to the space station, a robotic arm will catch the capsule and then take it to one of the docking ports. The Cargo is carrying 5,500 pounds of supplies for the astronauts.
“All is looking great, we’re not expecting any issues,” said Jessica Jensen, Director of Dragon mission, SpaceX.
The first stage successfully landed at Cape Canaveral eight minutes after the launch. It was the eighth successful landing for the SpaceX to reuse the booster to cut-off the cost. It was the second successful launch for the U.S.based space agency after the explosion occurred last year in September.