Hawthorne-based SpaceX launched a re-supply mission to the International Space Station Sunday, after postponing the launch Saturday due to poor weather.
The cargo mission lifted off at 8:17 a.m. PST from Cape Canaveral in Florida, with its Falcon 9 booster landing on a nearby droneship in the Atlantic Ocean minutes later.
At 8:30 a.m., the company tweeted: “Dragon separation confirmed; the spacecraft is on its way to the @space_station. Autonomous docking tomorrow at approximately 1:30 p.m. EST.”
The launch was scheduled for at 8:39 a.m. PST Saturday, but due to poor weather in the recovery area, a backup launch window of 8:17 a.m. PST Sunday was activated, the company tweeted Saturday morning.
The rocket used in Sunday’s launch has already flown three prior missions, including the historic launch in May of two astronauts to the International Space Station, the first manned launch from American soil since the space shuttle program was retired in 2011.
Last month, SpaceX launched four more astronauts to the space station.
This launch was SpaceX’s 21st cargo mission to the space station, but the first using an updated version of the Dragon space capsule. According to SpaceX, the revamped capsule can carry 20% more cargo than the previous ship, and it has double the amount of “powered locker cargo capability.”
The redesigned craft is capable of up to five flights to and from the space station, and it can stay docked at the station more than twice as long as the previous version, according to SpaceX.
NASA officials said the capsule will carry a variety of supplies, equipment and other materials, supporting more than 250 science and research investigations.
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