WASHINGTON: As a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), a SpaceX Dragon cargo ship, with the help of a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Station Monday as it was loaded with 7,000 pounds of equipment.
The supplies also included two add-on roll-out solar blankets as the mission started its 18-hour trip.
The mission was delayed on Saturday and Sunday due to weather conditions but it was finally launched onto a northeasterly trajectory matching the ISS’s orbital track.
The first stage, and its fifth flight, boosted the rocket out of the lower atmosphere before separating and flying itself to the landing barge. The second stage continued the climb to orbit, releasing the unpiloted Dragon to fly on its own about 12 minutes after liftoff. –Agencies
