A new SpaceX launch brings supplies to the ISS

On August 29, the SpaceX project launched its 21st rocket this year into space, sending a Dragon robotic capsule aboard the International Space Station (ISS). A two-stage Falcon 9 carrier took off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, kicking off the company's 23rd refueling mission to the orbiting laboratory. The Dragon module was loaded with over two tons of supplies, science experiment materials and hardware, including a new robotic arm that will be tested inside the Space Station's Bishop Airlock.

Credits: NASA

After just eight minutes from take-off, the first stage of the Falcon 9 returned to Earth, landing on one of the ships belonging to the SpaceX project in the Atlantic Ocean, without any major problems. The huge ship, called "A Shortfall of Gravitas", is the most recent of three ships in the company's fleet of recovery vessels, designed to recover boosters returned to the atmosphere and to be recovered for later reuse.

The Dragon module is expected to arrive at its destination on the International Space Station by the afternoon of Monday 30 August. Docked to the ISS, there is currently another module that is part of the SpaceX project, namely the Crew Dragon Endeavor, launched on April 23 as a transport for four astronauts.



This last one launch had to take into account the starting weather conditions. Originally scheduled for August 28, the mission was slightly delayed before being put into practice. To put it this way, however, a perfect launch to the Falcon 9 vector and, consequently, a good chance of success for the entire mission.