Dragon CRS-2 SpX-24

Dragon CRS-2 SpX-24

• Type: Resupply
• Orbit: Low Earth Orbit
• Launch Cost: $52,000,000

24th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA.

Cargo Dragon 2 brings supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support science and research investigations that occur onboard the orbiting laboratory.

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 175 rockets, including 174 orbital launch attempts, while Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 233 rocket launches.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

Core B1069

Booster B1069 last launched 02/25/2024 and has seen 13 successful launches and landings. Falcon 9 Block 5 booster first used for the CRS-24 mission.

Just Read the Instructions – JRTI

Third (Marmac 303) ASDS barge, Just Read the Instructions (JRTI) is currently used to recover Falcon 9 and Heavy boosters in the Altantic Ocean.

Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship – ASDS

An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.

SpaceX

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.