On Sunday, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket — loaded with a Dragon capsule full of supplies for the International Space Station — from Kennedy Space Center Launch Pad 39A.
The launch and recovery of the first stage booster went smoothly, and Dragon should be at the ISS soon. It’s the company’s second successful mission after the AMOS accident last fall.
Launch Pad 40 was heavily damaged during the accident, and is still out of commission. Repairs continue, the company says it will return to Pad 40 this year with its Falcon 9.
Yesterday’s launch from 39A is a big deal. SpaceX signed a 40-year lease back in 2014, and has since been modifying and upgrading the historic site. 39A was home to every crewed Apollo mission starting with 8. The very first space shuttle mission lifted off from 39A in 1981, as did the majority of subsequent shuttles missions; 39B wasn’t ready until 1986, and entered service as the home of a tragedy.
SpaceX will continue to modify 39A to support future crewed missions, and the pad will support the upcoming Falcon Heavy. All of that is exciting, and it’s great to see such an important place in NASA’s history continue see use.