National Post (National Edition)
FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LATEST SPACEX LAUNCH
1 A MILESTONE IN REUSABILITY
SpaceX racked up another first on Friday, launching a recycled rocket with a recycled capsule on a grocery run for NASA. It was also NASA’s first use of a reused Falcon rocket and only the second of a previously flown Dragon. The Dragon reaches the space station Sunday. The capsule last visited the 250-mile-high outpost in 2015.
2 SUCCESSFUL LANDING
Within 10 minutes of liftoff, the first-stage booster was back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, standing upright on the giant X at SpaceX’s landing zone. That’s where it landed back in June following its first launch. Ven Feng, a NASA manager, said he had “a little sense of déjà vu” watching Friday’s launch and landing of the same rocket he saw take off and return in June.
3 THE CAPSULE’S PAYLOAD
The unmanned Falcon rocket blasted off with a capsule hauling nearly 5,000 pounds of goods, including 40 mice for a muscle-wasting study, a first-of-its-kind impact sensor for measuring space debris as minuscule as a grain of sand and barley seeds for a germination experiment by Budweiser, angling to serve the first beer on Mars.
4 MAJOR CUTS IN COST
Reusability is the future for space flight, according to NASA’s Kirk Shireman. “The reality is, the business of space is dominated by launch costs ... so getting the costs down is important for everyone,” Shireman said. Jessica Jensen, a SpaceX manager, said the company aims to reuse rockets — and capsules — far more than twice.
5 REFURBISHED LAUNCH PAD
This was the first launch from the SpaceX-rented Complex 40 in more than a year. The last time a Falcon rocket stood at the pad ready to fly, in September 2016, it blew up during a fuelling drill. SpaceX spent $50 million rebuilding the pad. Friday’s successful liftoff means SpaceX has now launched from all three of its pads — two in Florida and one in California — in the same year.“This was a fantastic way to end the year for SpaceX East Coast launches,” Jensen said.