Liftoff
Here’s a look at the nighttime liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon spacecraft, from Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Oct. 7.
Observing
Fans of the mission take photos of the CRS-1 Dragon launch to the ISS from Cape Canaveral, which lifted off at 8:35 p.m. ET.
SpaceX HQ
SpaceX employees watch the Falcon 9 and Dragon launch at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif.
Vertical
The Falcon 9 and Dragon go vertical on the launch pad ahead of the takeoff. The mission will carry supplies to the ISS and return to Earth two weeks later.
Mating Season
The Dragon spacecraft awaits mating operations to the Falcon 9 rocket before SpaceX’s first launch to the ISS earlier this week.
Paired
Engineers mate the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft to the Falcon 9 rocket on Sept. 30, ahead of the launch to the ISS.
Merlin
The Falcon 9 rocket, complete with nine Merlin engines, awaits launch. The Falcon 9 is a two-stage launch vehicle that is powered by liquid oxygen and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1).
Static Fire
On Sept. 29, SpaceX conducted a static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket’s nine engines, where engineers ran through all countdown processes, ending with all nine engines firing at full power for two seconds while Falcon 9 was held down to the pad.
The Next Step
SpaceX CRS-1 is an important step toward making America’s microgravity research program self-sufficient by providing a way to deliver and return significant amounts of cargo.
Attachment
A grainy screenshot taken from NASA’s live television feed from the ISS shows the Dragon spacecraft successfully captured by one of the station’s robotic arms.