SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft sends supplies to the ISS

CRS-12 launches from Historic LC-39a

On Monday August 14th, around 12:31pm EDT, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Historic LC-39a at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft sat atop the Falcon 9 carrying over 6,400lbs of supplies and payloads launched into Low Earth Orbit toward the International Space Station (ISS). This launch is the 12th of the 20 missions to the ISS that Dragon will be flying under NASA's Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) contract. On August 16th, the crew on the ISS will capture Dragon using the Station's 58ft long robotic arm and proceed with docking the spacecraft. This mission

The Falcon 9 first stage standing tall at LZ-1

also featured a "Return To Launch Site" landing of the Falcon 9's first stage. Right after separation, the first stage flipped around and began to fire up its engines and fly all the way back to LZ-1 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It then performed a series of burns to guide it through the atmosphere and stick a perfect landing to get recovered and refurbished for another launch.