Gallery: Used CRS-14 Dragon capsule flies atop used Falcon 9 rocket
A Falcon 9 with CRS-14 rises from Space Launch Complex 40. Photo Credit: Michael Howard / SpaceFlight Insider
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Lifting off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40, a SpaceX Falcon 9 sent the CRS-14 Dragon capsule on its way toward the International Space Station.
Liftoff took place at 4:30 p.m. EDT (20:30 GMT) April 2, 2018. Clouds made for dynamic images of the flight and SpaceFlight Insider’s visual team—via remote cameras at the launch pad and individuals stationed at various safe locations several miles away—were able to capture the event.
The two-stage Falcon 9 with the Dragon capsule perched on top was 213 feet (65 meters) tall and 12 feet (3.7 meters) wide. Its nine first stage Merlin 1D engines produced some 1.7 million pounds (7,600 kilonewtons) of thrust at liftoff to send the spacecraft and its 5,836 pounds (2,647 kilograms) of cargo into space.
For this flight, SpaceX utilized a previously-flown first stage, which first flew in August 2017 as part of CRS-12, and a previously-flown Dragon capsule, which first flew during the CRS-8 mission. This is also the second time that both a “flight-proven” first stage and a “flight-proven” Dragon pressure vessel were utilized on a single mission. The first time that occurred was during the CRS-13 flight in December 2017.
Currently on at two-day flight to catch up with the ISS, the CRS-14 Dragon is expected to rendezvous with the outpost to be captured by the robotic Canadarm2 around 7 a.m. EDT (11:00 GMT) April 4.
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The following photos were taken by the SpaceFlight Insider visual team.
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