Historic maiden blastoff of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center) at 9:38 a.m. EDT on Feb 19, 2017, on Dragon CRS-10 resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - Sunday's inaugural blastoff of a commercial SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from historic pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Feb 19 proved to be space spectacular like none other along the Florida Space Coast, that will help path the path for eventual human journeys to the Red Planet.
The mission involved the successful liftoff of the two stage Falcon 9/Dragon vehicle aimed at delivering over 2.5 tons of critical science and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) - coupled with the first ever daylight ground landing of the spent first stage booster back at Cape Canaveral.
Under completely cloudy and scattered showery skies, the 22 story tall Falcon 9 propelled a SpaceX cargo Dragon to low Earth orbit.
Thus began a three day orbital chase to the orbiting lab complex culminating with a rendezvous and Dragon berthing just hours from now on Wednesday morning, Feb 22.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Feb 19, 2017 for NASA on the Dragon CRS-10 delivery mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Credit: Julian Leek
Meanwhile the used 156 foot tall first stage maneuvered its way to a precision soft landing and upright touchdown on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL after dropping below the low hanging clouds just seconds before the final descent phase as the landing legs unfurled and locked firmly in place with engines eerily firing away.
The stunning events were captured by journalists and tourists gathered from across the globe.
Check out this expanding gallery of eyepopping photos and videos from several space journalist colleagues and friends and myself - for views you won't see elsewhere.
Click back as the gallery grows !
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Feb 19, 2017 for NASA on the Dragon CRS-10 delivery mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Credit: Julian Leek
Launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 19, 2017 on the Dragon CRS-10 cargo delivery mission to the ISS for NASA. Credit: Trevor Mahlmann
Historic maiden blastoff of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center) at 9:38 a.m. EDT on Feb 19, 2017, on Dragon CRS-10 resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Watch these launch videos compiled from the roof of NASA's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and ringing around the Launch Complex 39A pad perimeter.
Video Caption: SpaceX Falcon9 launch of CRS-10 from historic Pad 39A at KSC on February 19, 2017 as seen by video cameras stationed on the VAB roof and at pad 39A. Credit: Jeff Seibert/AmericaSpace
Check out this amazing time-lapse video of the landing as seen from Port Canaveral, FL by Mary Ellen Jelen.
Video Caption: This is a stack of 99 photos shot from Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral, FL of the SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage landing on 19 Feb 2017 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Landing Zone 1. Photo Credit: Mary Ellen Jelen / We Report Space
Here is a sequence of landing shots taken by my colleagues and myself.
See additional photos by Trevor Mahlmann here:
http://photos.tmahlmann.com/Rockets/SpaceX/CRS-10/
Final descent of the SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage with legs deployed after launching some 9 minutes earlier on Feb. 19, 2017 from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, as seen from the VAB roof. Credit: Trevor Mahlmann
Final descent of the SpaceX Falcon 9 1st stage landing as seen from the VAB roof under heavily overcast skies after Feb. 19, 2017 launch from pad 39 at the Kennedy Space Center. The booster successfully soft landed upright at Landing Zone-1 (LZ-1) accompanied by multiple sonic booms at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, about 9 minutes after launch to the International Space Station (ISS). Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Touchdown of the SpaceX Falcon 9 1st stage landing as seen from the VAB roof under heavily overcast skies after Feb. 19, 2017 launch from pad 39 at the Kennedy Space Center. The booster successfully soft landed upright at Landing Zone-1 (LZ-1) accompanied by multiple sonic booms at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, about 9 minutes after launch to the International Space Station (ISS). Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com
Watch for Ken's onsite CRS-10 mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news.
Ken Kremer
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