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Resilience is on the approach to the International Space Station.
At precisely 7:27 p.m. ET, a SpaceX Falcon 9 booster burst to life at Launch Complex 39A, its engines lighting up the Florida coast. The picture-perfect launch of the gumdrop-shaped Crew Dragon spacecraft — nicknamed Resilience — marks a historic second in American spaceflight historical past. Not since the finish of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 has NASA despatched people to orbit from American soil in an operational mission.
The Crew Dragon comprises a global meeting of astronauts: Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker of NASA, plus Soichi Noguchi of Japanese house company JAXA. The crew is anticipated to spend the subsequent six months on the International Space Station.
Just below 10 minutes after launch, the first stage Falcon 9 booster landed safely on a droneship stationed in the Atlantic.
Shortly after, at round 12 minutes, Resilience separated from the second stage and headed on its approach. The spacecraft will now chase down the ISS and dock with the station on Nov. 16 round 11 p.m. ET.
It’s not the first time a Falcon 9 rocket has delivered a Crew Dragon spacecraft to house. In May, NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have been the first two people to be carried to orbit through SpaceX’s workhorse rocket. But that was a take a look at mission, the closing field to be ticked earlier than operations formally start. Crew-1 alerts the return of operational flights to US soil.
You can watch the replay of the launch at our how to watch web page.
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