BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying supplies and science experiments to the International Space Station successfully lifted off from Kennedy Space Center as scheduled at 3:14 a.m. Sunday morning.
What You Need To Know
- A Falcon 9 rocket carrying a cargo Dragon ship successfully lifted off Sunday
- The rocket was carrying supplies and science experiments to the ISS
- The first launch attempt early Saturday had been scrubbed because of lightning
- Related:
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/IMBdVYhwvf
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 29, 2021
After hoisting the Dragon capsule, the first-stage booster landed upright minutes later on SpaceX’s newest ocean platform, named “A Shortfall of Gravitas.”
Falcon 9’s first stage booster has landed on A Shortfall of Gravitas – first landing on this droneship! pic.twitter.com/vaiqb30q0P
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 29, 2021
SpaceX founder Elon Musk continued his tradition of naming the booster-recovery vessels in tribute to the late science fiction writer Iain Banks and his Culture series.
Dragon separation was confirmed, and the capsule is expected to dock autonomously with the ISS at about 11 a.m. Eastern Time on Monday.
The launch was the second attempt after lightning in the area early Saturday forced a delay in the launch for the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-23) mission.
The Cargo Dragon spacecraft held about 4,800 pounds of cargo, including about 2,000 pounds of science experiments.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.