Engineers connected SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to its Falcon 9 launcher Thursday, setting the stage for a busy weekend of preparations for a brief firing of the rocket's nine main engines on the launch pad Monday. The Dragon spacecraft was rotated for attachment to the Falcon 9 rocket Thursday. Credit: NASA The Falcon 9 rocket's Merlin 1C first stage engines will fire for about two seconds in a standard pre-launch test of the fully assembled rocket before liftoff. The hotfire is scheduled for the conclusion of a practice countdown at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT) on launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. SpaceX plans to webcast the event starting at 2:30 p.m. EDT. "During the...
↧