A recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried a cargo ship from the Florida coast Monday on a supply mission to the International Space Station.
The Dragon cargo ship is carrying bout 3 tons of experiments and supplies to the space station following a successful launch Monday afternoon from Florida's Cape Canaveral. The first-stage of Hawthorne-based SpaceX's re-useable rocket returned to Earth after an August 2017 mission and was deployed again for Monday's launch.
SpaceX has combined a recycled Dragon and a recycled Falcon once before. The company aims to reduce launch costs by reusing rocket parts.
Dragon is scheduled to arrive at the space station Wednesday, marking its second visit to the orbiting space lab. The ISS's robotic arm will grasp Dragon, moving the spacecraft into a berth so the cargo can be unloaded.
Food and other space station supplies, including items for experiments, are on the spacecraft. The space station is currently home to astronauts from the U.S., Russia and Japan.
