Four days before its scheduled blastoff on a resupply run to the International Space Station, a Falcon 9 rocket ran through a countdown rehearsal and engine test Sunday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The two-stage rocket was fueled with kerosene and liquid oxygen Sunday morning, then ignited its nine Merlin 1D main engines at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT), sending a cloud of exhaust and steam out of pad 39A’s flame trench, which was modified for the Falcon 9.
The Falcon 9 will be lowered and returned to SpaceX’s hangar for attachment of a Dragon supply ship in the coming days. Liftoff is set for Thursday, June 1, at 5:55 p.m. EDT (2155 GMT) on the way to the International Space Station.
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