Dragon Spacecraft Separation

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is flying on its own in a preliminary orbit after separation from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage. Coming up, the Dragon’s power-generating solar arrays will deploy, a process that takes about 8 to 10 minutes.

Here are a few early photos from this morning’s liftoff.

Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Launch of the SpaceX CRS-15 mission took place at 5:42 a.m. EDT. Image credit: NASA TV
Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Liftoff of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Launch of the SpaceX CRS-15 mission took place at 5:42 a.m. EDT. Image credit: NASA TV
The glow of liftoff shines through the treeline southeast of the Launch Complex 39 news center at Kennedy Space Center.
The glow of liftoff shines through the treeline southeast of the Launch Complex 39 news center at Kennedy Space Center. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launched at 5:42 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket leaves a vapor trail over Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39 area following the 5:42 a.m. EDT launch of the company's 15th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket leaves a vapor trail over Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39 area following the 5:42 a.m. EDT launch of the company’s 15th commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Dan Casper

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