SpaceX successfully launches Falcon 9 to International Space Station

Space Exploration Technologies has another reason to celebrate as the company successfully launched the Falcon 9 rocket containing the Dragon capsule into space. The launch pushed through, despite an anomaly detected on the capsule’s maneuvering thrusters. The issue was resolved after astronauts aboard the outpost used the station's robotic arm to pluck the capsule from orbit at 5:31 a.m. EST, as the ship sailed 250 miles over northern Ukraine. Flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control in Houston then stepped in to drive the capsule to its berthing port on the station's Harmony connecting node.

The Falcon 9 spaceship and its Dragon capsule took off at 10:10 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The cargo ship -- carrying food, supplies, spare parts and science equipment for the International Space Station -- had astronaut meals and clothing, fresh fruit for the station residents, 640 seeds of a flowering weed for research purposes, mouse stem cells, protein crystals, air-purifying devices, trash bags, computer parts and other necessary gear.

Flight controllers from SpaceX said that they were trying to override the system of the Dragon capsule and activate at least one additional booster required to bring the capsule to its intended orbit. This is the first time SpaceX experienced an anomaly with its Dragon spacecraft while in orbit. The company’s two previous launches to the ISS went through without issues.

The recent flight of the Dragon capsule is a part of SpaceX’s $1.6 billion contract with NASA to resupply the ISS. The space agency is hoping that the collaboration will evolve into using SpaceX to send manned missions into space in the future.

“Using commercial launch providers is more efficient for [NASA], especially after the space shuttles were retired in 2011, and is part of a long-term plan to reduce expenses on low-Earth orbit missions and invest more in deep-space missions,” said Lori Garver, NASA's Associate Administrator.

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NASA revives communication with ISS following three-hour gap

NASA has finally restored its contact with the International Space Station after an equipment failure that lasted for almost three hours, leaving the mobile laboratory dependent without a direct link to its Mission Control center.

The space agency suddenly lost communication with the ISS at 9:45 a.m. ET (1445GMT), but fortunately, space station flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Control center in Houston were able to reestablish contact with the space station at 12:34 p.m. ET (17:34 GMT).

In a statement, NASA officials said: “Flight controllers were in the process of updating the station’s command and control software and were transitioning from the primary computer to the backup computer to complete the software load when the loss of communication occurred.

Reports from NASA officials said that the failure was caused by a main data relay system that malfunctioned, making the computer that controls the ISS’ critical functions switch to a backup. After the incident, the station was still not able to communicate with the Tracking and Data Relay satellite network which serves as the outpost’s link to NASA’s Mission Control center on the ground.

The loss of communication occurred when flight controllers at NASA’s Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center in Houston were sending a software update to the International Space Station. Fortunately, NASA flight controllers were able to communicate with the spaceflyers aboard the space station even before the lines of communication were restored.

Once Mission Control made contact with the International Space Station through Russian ground stations, Expedition 34 commander Kevin Ford reported on the health and status of the space station and its residents.

"Hey, just FYI, the station's still fine and straight, everybody is in good shape of course," said Ford in an audio released by NASA. "And nothing unexpected other than lots of caution warning tones, and of course we have no system in sight. We'll get that back to you as soon as we can."

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