CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 13 (UPI) — After a close call and a few scratched attempts, SpaceX is ready to try once again to safely return the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket to Earth. An International Space Station resupply mission, scheduled for a 4:33 p.m. EST Monday launch, has give the aerospace company another chance to showcase its game-changing technology.
The stage will dispatch from the rest of Falcon 9 launch vehicle just 2.5 minutes into flight time. As the Dragon capsule and second-stage thrusters continue on toward the space station, the first stage rocket will return to Earth. The trajectory of the stage one rocket will bring to back toward a target platform floating in the Atlantic, some 200 miles off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla.
“After Dragon and Falcon 9’s second stage are on their way to orbit, the first stage will execute a controlled re-entry through Earth’s atmosphere, targeting touchdown on an autonomous spaceport drone ship approximately nine minutes after launch,” SpaceX officials wrote on the company’s blog.
As it descends through Earth’s atmosphere and toward the target, thrusters will both maintain the proper trajectory and fire backward to slow its momentum. The last attempt ended in failure as the stage one rocket hit the target but came in too hot, exploding as it hit the platform.
Perfecting reusable rocket technology will reduce waste and safe SpaceX a lot of money, eliminating the need to build a new rocket each time it’s scheduled to execute a resupply mission as part of its multibillion-dollar contract with NASA.
The Dragon capsule will carry some 4,400 pounds of food and scientific equipment to the space station, where two of the astronauts (one Russian and one American) continue to acclimate to the first month of their yearlong mission.
Included in the latest resupply cargo is what will be a significant upgrade to space-based coffee culture. ISS is getting a microgravity espresso machine. Space station residents were supposed to begin sipping cappuccinos late last year, but a series of delays pushed back the delivery of the ISSPresso machine, built by Italian company Lavazza, until now.
The resupply mission will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch will be broadcast live on NASA TV, with coverage beginning at 3:30 p.m. EST.
“The weather remains the primary concern for today with the most recent report calling for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time,” NASA officials wrote in a blog post on Monday morning.
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