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CRS-17 (Falcon 9) 4 May 2019 |
Space Launch Complex 40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station |
| SpaceX launched its seventeenth Commercial Resupply Services mission (CRS-17) carrying about 5,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the International Space Station on 4 May 2019 at 2:48 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Dragon spacecraft for the CRS-17 mission previously supported the CRS-12 mission in August 2017. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship stationed about twelve miles offshore of Cape Canaveral in the Atlantic Ocean. | |
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ABOVE: A time exposure reveals, at left, the upward arcing trajectory of the rocket heading to orbit. The short streaks at right are, at top, the entry burn of the first stage to slow it down, then a gap where the rocket is freefalling before, at lower right, the landing burn brings the booster to a gentle stop on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship positioned about twelve miles offshore. BELOW: The colorful light show produced by separation of the first stage booster and the interaction of the exhaust plumes from the second stage firing on to orbit and the first stage boostback burn. In the lower four images, the upper bright dot is the first stage beginning its maneuvering for landing while the lower bright dot is the second stage taking Dragon into orbit. |
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CRS-17 Falcon 9 booster in Port Canaveral - 5 May 2019 |
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Images of the CRS-17 booster still on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship where it landed the day before out in the Atlantic Ocean. The booster is being prepared to be lifted by crane onto shore. The droneship and booster arrived back in Port Canaveral late in the afternoon on 4 May 2019. |
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Two of the SpaceX ships used in Falcon 9 booster rocket and Dragon spacecraft recovery. |
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