SpaceX launches Falcon 9 for cargo mission to International Space Station

At 9:39:00 am ET on February 19, 2017, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon spacecraft, lifted off from Launch Complex 39A to deliver nearly 5,500 lbs of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station. This marked SpaceX’s first launch from Kennedy Space Center’s historic pad, and the first launch from LC-39A since July 8, 2011 when Atlantis lifted off for the final flight of the Shuttle Program.

Over the next two days, Dragon will conduct a series of height adjust and coelliptic burns to bring it closer to the International Space Station, culminating with capture of Dragon by the station’s robotic arm and berthing of the spacecraft to the Harmony module of the International Space Station. For about a month, crew members will unload the spacecraft and reload it with cargo to return to Earth.

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