SpaceX Falcon 9/Dragon Test Flight (December 8, 2010)

Nine Merlin engines on the first stage of SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket briefly fired up on a Cape Canaveral launch pad Wednesday, and the launcher cleared a customary pre-flight checkout in preparation for liftoff early Sunday with a Canadian-owned communications satellite.

The Starlink 6-73 mission featured Falcon 9 booster, tail number 1067, which launched for a record-setting 27th time. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened on Monday, April 14, at 12 a.m. EDT (0400 UTC).

A SpaceX Dragon cargo freighter departed the International Space Station Tuesday for return to Earth, wrapping up the 20th and final visit to the orbiting research complex for the current version of SpaceX’s supply ship before an upgraded Dragon starts launching later this year. Release from the space station’s robotic arm occurred at 9:06 a.m. EDT (1306 GMT), followed by splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 2:50 p.m. EDT (1850 GMT).