SpaceX to launch reused Dragon spacecraft to International Space Station

HAWTHORNE (FOX 11 / CNS) - Hawthorne-based SpaceX will look to make more history Thursday, with the company set to launch a supply mission to the International Space Station using a spacecraft that will be making its second visit to the outpost.

The company has already revolutionized the spaceflight industry by recovering the first stage of its Falcon 9 rockets multiple times for re-use. The company successfully re-used one of them during a March flight.

Thursday's scheduled launch will mark the first time SpaceX has re-used one of its Dragon spacecraft, albeit a heavily refurbished one. The craft previously traveled to the International Space Station in 2014.

The spacecraft will be launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and SpaceX will again attempt to recapture the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket that boosts it into orbit, landing the rocket back at Cape Canaveral. If successful, it would be the fourth time SpaceX has piloted the rocket's first stage back to Cape Canaveral. The rockets have been recovered six times on a barge floating in the ocean.

Thursday's mission, dubbed CRS-11, will carry nearly 6,000 pounds of supplies and payloads, according to SpaceX.

The launch window opens at 2:55 p.m. California time. If any problems arise, a backup launch window will open at 2:07 p.m. Saturday. You can watch live coverage on NASA TV or via the SpaceX website.

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