Just a few days ago we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon. What an astounding accomplishment and what a joy to remember. Take a look at the grainy views of the launch and walk on the moon mentioned in immediately previous post.
Check out the SpaceX Commercial Resupply Mission yesterday, 7/25/19. CRS-18 carried about 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station. In four weeks about 3,300 pounds of cargo will be returned to earth.
The mission press release says this is the third time this Dragon capsule has flown, which is a new record for reuse. This is the second time this particular Falcon 9 booster has flown. The booster was successfully recovered.
The announcer on the broadcast said this is the 44th successfully recovery of a booster.
Ponder that.
Recovery of the booster is a routine thing. Return of the capsule from ISS and successful reuse of the capsule is a routine thing. Astounding.
The press release says this is the 18th of 20 resupply missions for SpaceX under the first resupply contract with a second contract for resupply running through 2024.
You can watch the launch video at your leisure:
[youtube=https://youtu.be/SlgrxVuP5jk]
Check out the astounding video of the liftoff.
Watch for the split screen view of the booster recovery. The first stage MECO was at T+2:26. At that instant the booster was at 67 miles altitude travelling at about 5,800 kilometers per hour. After three burns, the Falcon 9 had a gentle landing back on the pad.
It continues to amaze me to see the video from the booster, stage 2, and Dragon capsule.
Ponder the incredible accomplishments of Apollo 11. Ponder the astounding advances since then.
