SpaceX recycles
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They sent a 4-person crew up to the ISS this morning (docking tomorrow AM), using a "pre-owned" capsule and a recycled rocket. The rocket booster landed on the drone ship in the Atlantic.
3rd manned mission in less than 12 months.
https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-2-astronaut-launch-rocket-landing-success
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https://www.space.com/spacex-crew-2-dragon-space-station-docking-success
A used SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the company's Crew-2 mission docked successfully at the orbiting lab early Saturday (April 24).
The Crew Dragon Endeavour, which launched SpaceX's first crewed flight for NASA in May 2020, linked up with the station's U.S. built Harmony module at 5:08 a.m. EDT (0908 GMT) as both spacecraft sailed 264 miles above the Indian Ocean.
The spacecraft launched from pad 039A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida Friday (April 23). The Crew Dragon spacecraft previously carried NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of SpaceX's Demo-2 test flight. This flight is the first time that a SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle was reused for a launch and the first time that two Crew Dragon vehicles are docked at the station at the same time.
Arriving at the ISS on Endeavour today were four veteran spaceflyers: NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
The four astronauts arrived safely at the station about 23 hours after their successful launch, ready to begin their mission in space. They're expected to open the hatches between their Crew Dragon and the station at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT).
I continue to be amazed at the innovation that SpaceX has shown in their program. They were a 'nothing' what, 10 years ago? Now, they are positioned to be the premiere platform for US human space launches.
Boeing, Blue Origin...whatcha doing?
Oh, NASA, whatcha doing as well?
