![]() ![]() The Falcon 9 climbed away to the northeast directly into that orbital plane to enable the planned rendezvous. But it was clear sailing Wednesday and the countdown ticked to zero with no interruptions.Īt the moment of liftoff, the space station was flying 250 miles above the Indian Ocean south of Australia, but the plane of its orbit was sweeping across the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as Earth rotated below it. Liftoff came a day late because of time needed to replace moldy food bars in a habitat housing 40 rodents being carried to the station for medical research. EST (GMT-5) when the Falcon 9's nine Merlin 1C engines ignited with a roar and a torrent of fiery exhaust, quickly pushing the 230-foot-tall booster away from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. "As much as we are disappointed in this landing, or landing in the water, it shows the system overall knows how to recover from certain malfunctions." "Public safety was well protected here," he added. "The vehicle kept well away from anything where it could pose even the slightest risk to population or property. ![]() "The important point here is we have a safety function on board that makes sure the vehicle does not go on land until everything is OK, and that worked perfectly," Hans Koenisgman, SpacerX vice president of build and flight reliability, told reporters. During Wednesday's landing, the flight computer recognized the grid fin problem and never moved the impact point ashore during the final engine firing. ![]()
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