DRAGON CRS-8

DRAGON CRS-8 is no longer on orbit

NORAD ID: 41452

Int'l Code: 2016-024A

Launch date: April 8, 2016
Source: United States (US)
Launch site: AIR FORCE EASTERN TEST RANGE (AFETR)
Decay date: 2016-05-11

DRAGON CRS-8, also known as SpX-8, is a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station which was launched on 8th April 2016 at 20:43 UTC (16:43 EST). It was the tenth flight of a Dragon cargo spacecraft and the eighth operational mission contracted to SpaceX by NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services program. This capsule carries over 1,500 kilograms (3,300 lb) of supplies for ISS residents and delivers (stowed in its trunk) the inflatable BEAM space habitat prototype which will be attached to the station for two years of in-orbit viability tests. After boosting the payload on its way, the rocket's first stage re-entered the atmosphere and landed vertically on the ocean platform Of Course I Still Love You 9 minutes after liftoff, achieving a long-sought-after milestone in SpaceX's quest to develop reusable rockets.