SpaceX said on Tuesday its partially reusable Falcon 9 rocket has completed the thirty-first and the final launch of this year, marking the twenty-fourth resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
What Happened: Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk-led company’s Falcon 9 rocket — a two-stage, heavy-lift launch vehicle — has returned to earth after sending the Dragon cargo ship toward the ISS.
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/z9NvqaTz73
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 21, 2021
The launch was broadcast live and the development was confirmed by NASA and SpaceX.
The ISS, weighing more than 6,500 pounds with the supplies, is expected to dock itself to the space station about 24 hours after the launch.
Stage separation confirmed! The @SpaceX Dragon is now floating freely and flying toward the @Space_Station with science, supplies, and holiday treats aboard for the @NASA_Astronauts. pic.twitter.com/ncOPLLXNgd
— NASA (@NASA) December 21, 2021
See Also: SpaceX Launches 2 Missions Within 15 hours And Shatters Previous Annual Launch Record
The Falcon 9 rocket took off at 5.07 a.m. ET on Tuesday from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The space company run by the billionaire entrepreneur had last year completed 26 missions and 21 launches in 2019.
The latest launch comes after back-to-back two launches over the weekend. The Falcon 9 first launched the company’s Starlink 52 internet satellites to orbit, designated the Group 4-4 mission. It later deployed Turkey's new telecommunication satellite.
Falcon 9 has been regularly launching since at least early 2018 now. Musk marveled at the feat from inception.
Still kinda hard to believe it is working
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 21, 2021
Why It Matters: Musk founded SpaceX with the mission to make humanity multi-planetary. He has in the past said he remains “highly confident” that SpaceX would land humans on Mars by 2026.
The Starship would eventually replace Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon 2 rockets and be able to carry much more mass into orbit.
The ambitious transportation system can also carry humanity to the moon, Mars and make interplanetary travel possible.
The Starship system was selected in April to assist NASA with its Artemis moon-landing program.
photo: Falcon 9 launch / via NASA
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