Enlarge / This lengthy publicity photograph of the Crew-7 launch exhibits SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket streaking into the sky over NASA’s Kennedy House Heart in Florida, adopted by the return of the Falcon 9 booster to Earth. (credit score: Trevor Mahlmann/Ars Technica)
SpaceX launched a Dragon spacecraft into orbit from Florida’s House Coast early Saturday, carrying a multinational crew from america, Denmark, Japan, and Russia on a flight to the Worldwide House Station.
The 4 crew members strapped into their seats inside SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft in a single day after which waited for a Falcon 9 rocket to shoot them into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy House Heart. With a flash of orange gentle, the rocket’s 9 kerosene-fueled Merlin engines ignited and propelled the Falcon 9 off the launch pad at 3:27 am EDT (07:27 UTC).
The rocket headed northeast from the Florida coast to arc over the Atlantic Ocean and line up with the flight path of the Worldwide House Station. About two-and-a-half minutes into the launch, the Falcon 9’s first stage booster separated from the rocket’s higher stage to start thrusting again towards Cape Canaveral. The return maneuver culminated in an on-target vertical touchdown a number of miles south of the launch pad.
Learn 24 remaining paragraphs | Feedback
