With all of Elon Musk’s innovation in the automotive world, it’s easy to forget that Mr. Musk has a bunch of other projects brewing as well. One such example is SpaceX, where just this weekend, a resupply mission was launched using previously used capsule.
The reuse of the capsule and rocket allows Musk to move one step closer to his goal of recovering, refurbishing, and reusing previously flown spacecraft. The first time SpaceX had flown a used rocket was back in March. Saturday’s launch marks the seventh completed mission for SpaceX.
#ICYMI, more than 6,000 pounds of science & supplies left planet Earth at 5:07pm ET to head to @Space_Station: https://t.co/BPi0Ncqp6t pic.twitter.com/INokzT25Zk
— NASA (@NASA) June 3, 2017
The Dragon capsule that was launched is carrying nearly 6,000 lbs of supplies and payloads to the International Space Station and was successfully launched on Saturday, June 3rd at 5:07 PM. The Dragon capsule had previously supplied the ISS back in September of 2014.
From the time of launch, the Dragon will arrive at the ISS in three days, where a 57.7-foot robotic arm will capture it. The capsule will remain with the ISS for a month, where it will be installed on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony module.
It's starting to feel kinda normal to reuse rockets. Good. That's how it is for cars & airplanes and how it should be for rockets.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 4, 2017
This mission marks SpaceX’s eleventh cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX currently holds contracts with NASA valued at $4.2 billion. SpaceX has a partnership with the US military to launch satellites, a market estimated to be valued at approximately $70 billion through the year 2030.
SOURCE | The Indian Express
