SpaceX have launched an amazing space station docking port
for astronauts at early Monday, along with a DNA decoder for a high-flying
genetic research.
As an extra treat, the company
brought its leftover first-stage booster back to Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station for a vertical landing only the second such land landing
for an orbital mission and the ultimate in recycling. Twin sonic booms
rocked the night, incoming shuttle-style.
The
unmanned Falcon rocket streaked through the middle-of-the-night
darkness, carrying 5,000 pounds of food, experiments and equipment for
the International Space Station. The orbiting outpost was soaring over
the North Atlantic at lift-off, its six residents asleep.
It
was SpaceX’s second shot at delivering a new-style docking port for
NASA. The last one went up in smoke over the Atlantic last year, a
rocket accident casualty.
NASA needs this new docking
setup at the International Space Station before Americans can fly there
in crew capsules set to debut next year. SpaceX is building
astronaut-worthy versions of its Dragon cargo ships, while Boeing which
makes these docking ports is working on a crew capsule called Starliner.
The pair would dock to this ring and another due to fly in a year.
The Dragon and its latest shipment are due Wednesday at the 250-mile-high outpost.
NASA’s
space station programmer manager Kirk Shireman are expected to be “sweating
bullets without a doubt” at lift-off, as always. He said all the cargo
is precious, but really wants this docking port “up there safe and
sound.”
SpaceX, meanwhile, have had its sights not only on orbit, but also on the ground.
SpaceX
brought its leftover first-stage booster back to Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, just a couple miles from where it lifted off. The company
has now pulled off five vertical booster landings since December, three
on an ocean platform and two on land. SpaceX employees at company
headquarters in Hawthorne, California, cheered loudly and applauded when
the 15-story booster touched down smoothly.www.nairaland.com
SpaceX
founder and chief executive Elon Musk wants to refly his rockets to
shave launch costs the ultimate in recycling. The boosters normally are
ditched at sea. The company hopes to launch its first recovered rocket
this fall.
The station’s two Americans will perform a
spacewalk in August to hook up the new docking ring, about 5 feet
across and 3 1/2 feet tall. Another port cobbled together from spare
parts will replace the one lost in the June 2015 launch accident.
NASA went with private companies to supply the space station in the wake of the shuttle retirement five years ago this week.
the falcon 9 space X rockets lifts off from launch complex  |
| the falcon 9 space X rockets lifts off from launch complex |
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