SpaceX launched a cargo mission for NASA sending a robotic Dragon capsule aloft from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station around 6:00 am Wednesday IST.

The nine Merlin 1D main engines on the Falcon 9 rocket’s launch vehicle provided 1.7 million pounds of thrust as it ascended into space from the Kennedy Space Center, heading northeast to align with the orbital plane of the space station.

At two and a half minutes into the mission, the rocket shut down its first stage booster, allowing it to descend and land on a drone ship about 186 miles (300 kilometres) downrange in the Atlantic Ocean around seven and a half minutes after liftoff.

Around 12 minutes after liftoff, the third-time-flying Dragon capsule separated from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 to start its trip to the International Space Station.

The spacecraft was loaded with nearly 6,300 pounds of fresh food, equipment, and experiments for the International Space Station.

CRS-27 was the seventh space mission by the Falcon 9 booster with tail number B1073.

In a string of logistical launches that started in 2012 under a massive Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA, the resupply voyage marks SpaceX’s 27th cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station.

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The seven-person crew on board the space station and their ground support crews on Earth will continue their busy schedule with this mission, known as CRS-27. Four station occupants who left on a separate Crew Dragon capsule on Saturday night were replaced earlier this month when a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft launched to the space station with a new crew of four for a six-month adventure.

The Dragon spacecraft will begin a month-long stay at the orbiting research facility when it docks with the space station on Thursday at 5:22 pm IST.