The astronauts aboard International Space Station (ISS) awaited two deliveries after two launches within two days of each other in mid-July. The first of these launches was a Soyuz-U launch of a Progress MS-03 cargo craft at 2116 on 16 July. The launch took place from the Baikonur Cosmodrome near Tyuratam, Kazakhstan.
Update: After a “slow” two and a half day passage in which the spacecraft’s systems were checked out (the MS version is still relatively new) at 0020 GMT in the early morning (GMT) of 19 July the craft docked with the Pirs module of the ISS. Apart from 705 kg of propellants for the ISS engines, the craft is also carrying 420 kg water, 50 kg of compressed oxygen, and 1230 kg of other cargo.
The second launch was a Falcon 9FT-R which used a reusable (successfully landed back in Florida) first stage to carry the Dragon CRS 1-09 spacecraft into low Earth orbit. The rocket took off at 0445 GMT on 18 July 2016 from the Cape Canaveral launch site in Florida. The first stage was successfully flown back towards the Florida LZ-1 landing site after separation causing sonic booms to be heard over the coast of Florida as it slowed from supersonic speed. It made a powered landing nine minutes after lift off. The Dragon CRS 1-09 mission flown under commercial contract for NASA is carrying the International Docking Adaptor (IDA-2) in the spacecraft “trunk” as a replacement for IDA-1 which was lost in the Dragon CRS 1-07 failure.
Update: The Dragon CRS 1-09 spacecraft arrived at the ISS was grappled by the Space Station’s robot arm at 1056 GMT on 20 July 2016 and berthed at the nadir station of the Harmony module at 1403 GMT on 20 July 2016.
Comment by David Todd: The reusable operation of SpaceX has yet to be fully demonstrated for while stages have been recovered they have yet to have been reflown. One thing is apparent though. Using stages reused from low Earth orbit missions seems very likely, but those flown on higher energy missions i.e. to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) appear to sustain too much damage to be reused, which implies for the long term economics of SpaceX’s plans for reusability, a lot more LEO flights than GTO flights will have to be flown.
By the way, the SpaceX analysis is that they can maximise the benefit of reuse if they limit the reuse of each reusable stage to 10 flights (relying on minimum refurbishment). This number chimes with similar research done by British launch vehicle expert, Dr R.C. (Bob) Parkinson, who presented similar conclusion at the British Interplanetary Society in June showing that the magic “10” is the optimum number reusable flights for stages.
Post script: The high energy flight theory above might be proven very wrong given that, SpaceX fired up a used Falcon 9 first stage (recovered from a the high energy launch of JCSAT 14 in May). This was test fired in a full duration burn on 28 July at the SpaceX McGregor test facility in Texas. Nevertheless, for the first reused reusable flights, a former LEO mission flight stage will be used.
