SpaceX will once again attempt to launch a resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS) Monday, July 18 at 12:45 a.m. Eastern Time — a crucial step for the commercial space industry in the United States.
Monday's launch will transport 5,000 pounds or 2,268 kilograms of supplies, food and equipment — including a first-of-its-kind small DNA sequencer — to the space station.
But the day's main highlight is the delivery of one of two docking rings developed by aircraft manufacturing company Boeing Co.
Last year, SpaceX had tried to bring one docking ring to the ISS for the first time, but all the equipment got destroyed in a launch accident.
Now, Elon Musk's spaceflight company will blast off its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo ship from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to deliver the equipment.
All systems go & weather 90% favorable for launch of Dragon to @Space_Station. Liftoff slated for Monday, 12:45am ET pic.twitter.com/aPQq6qKfhO
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 17, 2016
What To Expect During Monday's Mission
According to Reuters, approximately 2.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 rocket's main section will disconnect, move in the opposite direction and then try to land on the ground a few distance from the launch site.
Landing the rocket's main section is only the secondary goal. The principal objective is to place the Dragon cargo capsule into orbit and send it into a two-day journey to the ISS, officials said.
Boeing Co.'s metal docking ring is about 2.4 meters or 7.8 feet in diameter.
After the ring is attached to a berthing port on the space station, the ring will serve as a "parking space" for commercial spacecraft under development by both SpaceX and Boeing Co.
The manned spaceships are scheduled to start test flights in 2017. Additionally, NASA confirmed that a second docking ring is expected to be delivered next year.
Landing On Solid Ground Versus Landing In The Ocean
Hans Koenigsmann, vice president of Mission Assurance at SpaceX, says he and the SpaceX team are aware of how critical Monday's mission is for NASA.
Landing a rocket on a pad is believed to be much easier than landing it on a drone ship in the ocean.
Although landing on solid ground uses more fuel, it offers a simpler target than the drone ship in the ocean, which dips and bobs.
"It's a pretty good sized landing pad compared to the drone ship," said Koenigsmann.
But SpaceX has to take advantage of both landing on solid ground and in the ocean for efficiency.
The ocean landing allows the spaceflight company to return boosters that launched cargo into high orbits, which also needs more fuel.
It then takes less fuel for rockets to come down to a drone ship. This makes landing on a drone ship a good option for high-velocity missions.
Meanwhile, if Monday's launch and landing are successful, this will be the fifth rocket booster that SpaceX has brought back to Earth for a soft landing.
Watch the live spectacle below.
