After standing down for a month due to Air Force maintenance on the launch range along the US East Coast, SpaceX will attempt to return to flight on Monday. Provided the weather and spacecraft cooperate, the company will launch a Dragon carrying about 3 tons of cargo to the International Space Station. Launch time is set for 12:31pm ET, and there is a 70 percent chance of “go” conditions for the instantaneous launch window.
This will be SpaceX’s 11th launch attempt of 2017, with the company already having flown more rockets into space this year than in any previous calendar year. It last flew on July 5th, when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted the very heavy Intelsat 35e communications satellite, nearly 7 tons, to geostationary orbit. Because the Dragon spacecraft is only going to low Earth orbit, the Falcon 9 rocket flying Monday will have plenty of propellant left behind to attempt a return to Landing Zone 1, along the Florida coast.
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