One minute later, the Crew Dragon capsule slipped into orbit and separated from the Falcon 9 second stage. Heralded by twin sonic booms, the Ax-2 first stage dropped out of the clouds and settled to a picture perfect touchdown eight minutes after liftoff. But past experience showed actual performance was better than expected, leaving enough propellant on board to reverse course and return to the launch site. In past Crew Dragon flights, booster stages landed on offshore barges and were towed back to shore for refurbishment and reuse. Monitoring the automated ascent from their seats in the Crew Dragon "Freedom" capsule were commander Peggy Whitson and co-pilot John Shoffner, flanked on the left and right by first-time Saudi fliers Ali Alqarni, a veteran F-16 fighter pilot, and biomedical researcher Rayyanah Barnawi.Īfter boosting the rocket out of the thick lower atmosphere, the reusable first stage, making its maiden flight, fell away and headed for landing back at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station while the Falcon 9's second stage continued the push to orbit. It is the second "private astronaut mission" chartered by Houston-based Axiom Space. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket thunders away from the Kennedy Space Center carrying four private astronauts to the International Space Station for an eight-day research mission. EDT, quickly throttled up to 1.7 million pounds of thrust and smoothly pushed the rocket away from historic pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.Īrcing away on a northeasterly trajectory, the slender rocket put on a spectacular weekend sky show, thrilling thousands of area residents and tourists lining nearby roads and beaches before disappearing into a high deck of clouds. ![]() The nine Merlin engines powering the Falcon 9's first stage roared to life at 5:37 p.m. A legendary astronaut, two Saudis and a wealthy adventurer blasted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Sunday for a trip to the International Space Station, the second " private astronaut mission" aimed at opening the high frontier to commercial development.
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