Falcon 9 • CRS-33

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a Cargo Dragon spacecraft with more than 5,000 of pounds of science and supplies to the International Space Station. The Dragon flying this mission included a new propulsion system within the vehicle’s trunk that will allow it to perform a boost of the space station’s orbit. This is a milestone in SpaceX’s development of the ISS Deorbit Vehicle, which will help slowly lower the orbit of the space station at the end of its functional life around the 2030/2031 timeframe. SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1090, which flew for a seventh time. A little more than 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1090 landed on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ which was positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. Delayed from Aug. 21.