SpaceX is set to launch its Dragon cargo capsule to the International Space Station on Monday, and mission control plans again to make history by landing their rocket back on Earth after blast off. The computer aims to bring the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back to Earth for a soft touchdown on an unmanned "spaceport drone ship" in the Atlantic Ocean, after the booster sends the Dragon cargo container on its way to the International Space Station.
SpaceX's Dragon cargo capsule will carry 4,300 pounds of supplies to astronauts floating above the Earth onboard the International Space Station. The supplies include food, water, and important materials to support the more than 250 scientific experiments that NASA's one-year mission astronauts will complete during their extended stay in space.
Liftoff is scheduled for 4:33 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 13 from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. If weather conditions or another disturbance prevents Monday's launch, SpaceX and NASA will reschedule the launch for the next day on Tuesday, April 14 at 4:10 p.m.
SpaceX attempted the same reusable rocket maneuver during their previous Dragon launch in January, and nearly pulled it off. The Falcon 9 first stage did succeed in hitting its mark but unfortunately it hit a bit too hard and exploded on the deck.
The rocket stage's stabilizing "hypersonic grid fins" ran out of hydraulic fluid, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said after the Jan. 10 try. He vowed to fix that particular issue in time for the next attempt. The next booster to come down for a drone-ship landing will have "way more hydraulic fluid," Musk tweeted on Jan. 16.
Monday's test is part of SpaceX's effort to develop fully usable and rapidly deployable rockets. Such technology could slash the cost of spaceflight by a factor of 100, helping open the heavens to exploration, Musk has said.
However, the main mission is to deliver the much needed supplies to the International Space Station. If all goes according to plan, the spacecraft will arrive at the ISS on Wednesday, April 15. The capsule will spend about five weeks attached to the space station before returning to Earth with over 3,000 pounds of science gear.
The capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean and then retrieved by recovery crews via boat. The Dragon is the only craft capable of bringing supplies back to Earth from the space station. All of the other capsules are designed to simply burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
