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fork(2) [soylentnews.org] writes:

      As reported everywhere, SpaceX put Falcon 9 into orbit early this morning from Cape Canaveral. SpaceDaily [spacedaily.com] reports:

Following the launch, the rocket separated, sending the cargo to orbit. Then, the first stage of the rocket successfully fired its engines again to maneuver its way back to land on solid ground at Cape Canaveral.

      SpaceX mission control erupted in cheers as live video footage showed the first stage of the rocket landing steady and upright, marking the second such solid-ground touchdown for SpaceX.

      It first accomplished the feat in December 2015, as part of the California-based company's ongoing effort to re-use costly rocket parts instead of jettisoning them into the ocean.

      [...]

        The Dragon cargo vehicle is expected to arrive early Wednesday, when astronauts will use the outpost's robotic arm to grab the incoming spacecraft and attach it to the station.

      "The spacecraft will be grappled to the space station at 7 am (1100 GMT) Wednesday, July 20, by NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, supported by NASA astronaut Kate Rubins," said the US space agency.

      SpaceNews [spacenews.com] (nice photos) says:

"It's exciting to have Dragon back in orbit," said Joel Montalbano, NASA ISS deputy program manager for utilization, at a post-launch press conference at the Kennedy Space Center. "It's a great day for SpaceX. It's a great day for NASA."

      Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of flight reliability for SpaceX, said the Falcon 9 provided a "perfect orbit insertion" of the Dragon spacecraft. He praised the launch teams that made sure the launch, which had an instantaneous launch window, took place as planned.

      The launch is the ninth for SpaceX under its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. That contract, originally for 12 Dragon missions to the ISS, has been extended several times and now includes 20 missions through 2019. SpaceX is one of three companies that received CRS-2 contracts from NASA in January to cover cargo services into the 2020s.

      [...]

      SpaceX has [...] succeeded in landing three first stages on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean, starting with the April launch of another Dragon mission to the ISS. Koenigsmann said at a pre-launch briefing July 16 that this stage will be the first the company plans to refly, no sooner than this fall.

      The next two launches, of geostationary communications satellites, will return to the ship landings. Koenigsmann said the next land landing will likely be on the next CRS mission, later this year.

      He added he talked with Musk after the launch and landing. "He was excited that the stage was back and in good health," Koenigsmann said of Musk. "His comment was also that one day people will pay less attention to this, and that’s actually the day we succeed."

      With the successful launch, Dragon will arrive at the ISS and be grappled by the station's robotic arm on July 20 at 7 a.m. Eastern. The Dragon will remain at the station for about five weeks before it departs, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

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