SpaceX’s first flight with a pre-flown booster for NASA was a success. After launch, SpaceX successfully touched down its used Falcon 9 rocket at the company’s ground-based Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral. This marks the 14th landing SpaceX has pulled off this year, and the second time this particular vehicle has landed following take […]
SpaceX’s first flight with a pre-flown booster for NASA was a success. After launch, SpaceX successfully touched down its used Falcon 9 rocket at the company’s ground-based Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral. This marks the 14th landing SpaceX has pulled off this year, and the second time this particular vehicle has landed following take off. This is also their 17th launch of 2017.
Original story: Today, SpaceX will once again send cargo to the International Space Station for NASA, but this time, the company is employing mostly used hardware for the job. A Falcon 9 rocket that the company previously launched to the ISS in June will loft a used Dragon cargo capsule, filled with supplies and science experiments for the station crew. It’s the first time SpaceX will fly a used rocket for one of its NASA resupply missions.
SpaceX finally started re-flying its used rockets earlier this year, after years of landing the vehicles post-launch. But so far, only a few of the company’s commercial customers have taken the plunge and put their satellites on previously flown Falcon 9 rockets. Now, NASA has signaled that it’s willing to fly on SpaceX’s used vehicles, too — a big endorsement for the company’s reusable rocket technology. Moving forward, NASA says it will make the decision to fly used rockets for resupply missions on a case-by-case basis.
