In Photos: SpaceX's 1st Launch from NASA's Historic Pad 39A

Standing Tall

Glenn Benson/NASA

A closer look at SpaceX's Falcon 9 atop Pad 39A by NASA photographer Glenn Benson.

Awaiting Launch Day

Glenn Benson/NASA

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket awaits launch day for its SpaceX-10 mission, the 10th cargo delivery flight for NASA, which launched from NASA's historic Pad 39A.

Crystal Growth Experiment on Dragon

Frankie Martin/NASA

aul Reichert, associate principal scientist at Merck Research Laboratories in Kenilworth, New Jersey, discusses how a crystal growth experiment riding on SpaceX-10 will work in weightlessness.

Meet Raven

Frankie Martin/NASA

Jolyn Russell, deputy Robotics program manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s Satellite Servicing Projects Division in Maryland, discusses the "three-eyed" Raven investigation on SpaceX-10 to study real-time robotic spacecraft navigation system that provides the eyes and intelligence to see a target and steer safely toward it.

The Science on SpaceX-10

Frankie Martin/NASA

Tara Ruttley, NASA associate scientist for the International Space Station Program, left, and Patrick O'Nell, Marketing and Communications manager for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), speak to members of social media in the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium.

What's Riding on SpaceX-10

Frankie Martin/NASA

Richard Blakeslee of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, speaks to members of social media in the Kennedy Space Center's Press Site auditorium to discuss the instruments to be delivered to the International Space Station on the SpaceX CRS-10 mission.

Tissue Regeneration in Space

Frankie Martin/NASA

From NASA: "Dr. Melissa Kacena, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Indiana University, left, and Dr. Rasha Hammamieh, director of Integrative Systems Biology for the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick, Maryland, speak to members of social media in the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium. The briefing focused on studies on the effects of microgravity on tissue regeneration planned for the International Space Station following the arrival of a Dragon spacecraft."

Presenting SpaceX-10

Frankie Martin/NASA

Speaking to members of the media in the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, Dr. Michael Freilich of the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., left, and Dr. Richard Blakeslee of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, discussed instruments to be delivered to the International Space Station on the SpaceX CRS-10 mission.

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Hanneke Weitering
Contributing expert

Hanneke Weitering is a multimedia journalist in the Pacific Northwest reporting on the future of aviation at FutureFlight.aero and Aviation International News and was previously the Editor for Spaceflight and Astronomy news here at Space.com. As an editor with over 10 years of experience in science journalism she has previously written for Scholastic Classroom Magazines, MedPage Today and The Joint Institute for Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After studying physics at the University of Tennessee in her hometown of Knoxville, she earned her graduate degree in Science, Health and Environmental Reporting (SHERP) from New York University. Hanneke joined the Space.com team in 2016 as a staff writer and producer, covering topics including spaceflight and astronomy. She currently lives in Seattle, home of the Space Needle, with her cat and two snakes. In her spare time, Hanneke enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains, basking in nature and looking for dark skies to gaze at the cosmos.