The Falcon 9 successfully lifted off at 8:28 p.m. ET last night, sending Cargo Dragon on its solution to the International Space Station.
This was the sixth and final Dragon flight of 2023, with 3 of those being Crewed launches and the opposite two resupply missions. This Cargo Dragon is now playing catch as much as the Space Station and can begin its approach to the outpost at 3:45 a.m. ET.
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/iQ8DH6XoU8
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 10, 2023
Once docked to the Space Station, the crew will open the hatches and start removing the supplies and experiments inside and over the course of the following month, filling it with finished experiments and other unnecessary items to be returned to Earth.
Falcon 9 Booster 1081 accomplished its 2nd flight and, after separating from the 2nd stage, created a good looking “Falcon Nebula” within the sky because the Merlin 1D and Merlin Vacuum engine plumes interacted, causing the gases to glow within the upper atmosphere. The primary stage then made a successful landing back at LZ-1, sending sonic booms across the Space Coast.
This was the ninth mission in the present Phase 2 Industrial Resupply Services that was awarded to SpaceX, and as of writing, there are six more Cargo Dragon flights scheduled between 2024 and 2026.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed at LZ-1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station pic.twitter.com/mZdAvImchu
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 10, 2023
SpaceX is currently the one American launch provider with the power to send supplies or Crew, for that matter, to the International Space Station. Northrop Grumman recently retired its Antares rocket and might be launching its next Cygnus resupply vehicle on the Falcon 9 next yr. United Launch Alliance doesn’t have any Atlas V rockets available as their manifest is already assigned ahead of its retirement and eventual switch to the brand new Vulcan rocket that might be launching the Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser vehicle.
SpaceX has two more launches this weekend, one from California and one from Florida, quite a non-stop pace!