IMAGE OF THE DAY: SpaceX Rocket Sails Into Port Canaveral After Successful Barge Landing
By Space Coast Daily // August 22, 2016
PHOTO OF THE DAY
BREVARD COUNTY • CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – The first stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket sailed into Port Canaveral, just three days after its launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 14 carrying the JCSAT-16 communications satellite for Tokyo’s SKY Perfect JSAT.
This satellite supports existing services in the Ku- and Ka-band for the Japanese market, enabling more stable satellite services.
Falcon 9 is SpaceX’s two-stage rocket manufactured to successfully transport satellites and their Dragon spacecraft into orbit.
Currently, the only rocket fully designed and developed in the 21st century, Falcon 9 delivers payloads to space aboard the Dragon spacecraft or inside a composite fairing.
With a minimal number of separation events and nine first-stage Merlin engines, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is designed so that even if two of the engines shut down, the rocket can still operate.
In 2012, SpaceX became the first commercial company to rendezvous with the International Space Station utilizing Falcon 9 and Dragon. Although these flights have not transported crew, SpaceX is working toward their goal of transporting astronauts to space in Crew Dragon.
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