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A Falcon 9 rocket, carrying an unarmed unarmed Dragon 1 spacecraft, took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday shortly before 3 am ET.
This is usually a routine task for SpaceX. But the latest launch, originally scheduled earlier this week, was marred by unusual blockages before going to the launch pad, including a rare electrical problem aboard the space station.
After take-off, the first-stage propeller – the largest part of the launcher at the origin of the initial thrust – was detached from the second stage of the rocket and headed back to a vertical landing on a maritime platform called drone.
The probe is currently maneuvering alone in space, without being attached to the rocket, and should dock with the ISS on Sunday.
It was the 17th mission of this kind of SpaceX for NASA. The Dragon 1 capsule contains approximately 5,500 pounds of luggage, including equipment to map carbon dioxide levels in the Earth's atmosphere, equipment that can facilitate communication with exploration probes in the Earth's atmosphere. # 39; deep space and a multitude of scientific experiments.
However, there were some failures before the launch of SpaceX. One concerned old electrical equipment and power problems on board the space station.
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