NASA congratulated SpaceX for a “picture-perfect” launch after liftoff was first delayed from Wednesday, July 24, by poor weather. SpaceX finally launched late last night (July 25) a single Falcon 9 rocket carrying about 5,000 lbs of cargo the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX launch, dubbed CRS-18, marked the 18th cargo resupply mission under NASA’s hiring of the California-based company. The ISS cargo package is now expected to rendezvous with the orbital laboratory 250 miles (402km) above Earth on Saturday.
Bill Spetch, deputy manager of the International Space Station Transportation Integration Office at NASA, congratulated SpaceX.
He said: “It was a great launch, we were really happy to see the weather clear out the way it did.”
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.
The rocket ignited its engines and lifted off at 11.01pm BST (6.01pm EDT) on Thursday.
After launch, the Falcon 9’s booster stage safely returned to Earth where it remotely landed.
READ MORE: How does the Starship compare to NASA powerful Saturn V?
On Wednesday, poorly weather and cloudy conditions forced NASA to scrub the Falcon launch and delay it by 24 hours.
NASA said: “Weather was one thing the launch team closely monitored.
“Originally scheduled to launch July 24, unfavourable weather conditions caused a last-minute scrub.
“The morning of July 25, the weather looked much the same but cleared up just in time.
READ MORE: Elon Musk’s weirdest tweets REVEALED
“After a picture-perfect launch and spacecraft separation, Dragon is now drawing power from its solar arrays as it begins its solo, two-day trip to the orbiting laboratory.”
The reusable SpaceX capsule used in last night’s launch is flying to the ISS for the third time.
With the advent of SpaceX’s incredible Falcon 9 rocket, the company has been pioneering reusable spaceflight technology.
The previous resupply missions were CRS-6 and CRS-13 in April 2015 and December 2017, respectively.
READ MORE: What is the difference between the SpaceX Falcon Heavy and Falcon 9 rocket?
To mark the occasion, the Dragon capsule was decorated with commemorative emblems including one of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
Jessica Jensen, SpaceX’s Director of Dragon Mission Management, said: “We are still inspired by all of the Apollo missions and are excited to continue to work with NASA as they continue to explore the universe.”
Thursday also marked the first successful test flight of the Starhopper rocket prototype.
The Starhopper is in its initial test phase and will form the basis of the future Starship rocket.
