SpaceX launches supplies to space station after power delays
SpaceX launched a load of supplies to the International Space Station on Saturday following a pair of power delays.
A Falcon rocket raced into the pre-dawn darkness, carrying a Dragon capsule with 5,500 pounds (2,500 kilograms) of goods. This recycled Dragon—which is making its second space trip—is due to arrive at the orbiting lab Monday. The delivery is a few days late because of electrical power shortages that cropped up first at the space station, then at SpaceX's rocket-landing platform in the Atlantic. Both problems were quickly resolved with equipment replacements: a power-switching unit in orbit and a generator at sea.
Minutes after liftoff, SpaceX landed its brand new, first-stage booster on the ocean platform a mere 14 miles (22.53 kilometers) offshore, considerably closer than usual with the sonic booms easily heard at the
launch site. The booster should have returned to Cape Canaveral, but SpaceX is still cleaning up from the April 20 accident that destroyed an empty crew Dragon capsule.......