May 25, 2012

UPDATE: Today at 9:56 a.m. eastern time, the SpaceX Dragon capsule was grabbed by a robotic arm from the International Space Station about 250 miles above northwest Australia. The Dragon is carrying 1,200 pounds of cargo for the Space Station crew including food, clothing and science experiments, one of which originated from Maryland’s own Paul Warren, an 11th-grader at Henry E. Lackey High School in Indian Head.

Led by CEO, and PayPal founder, Elon Musk, SpaceX is now the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. With its successful launch on Tuesday and subsequent docking later today, the Falcon 9/Dragon capsule has ushered in a new era in space travel now that NASA has retired its fleet of space shuttles.

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Starting below at photo 12, take a look back to April 2010 with President Obama’s visit to SpaceX and trace the progression up to the launch earlier this week.

: The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft approaches the International Space Station for a series of tests on May 24, 2012. Engineers will use the Canadarm2 robotic arm to grapple the supply ship with the berthing to the Earth-facing side of the station’s Harmony node and is scheduled to spend about a week docked with the station before returning to Earth. NASA/Reuters)

: The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is seen in the docking port camera display of the International Space Station as it holds position as the crew of the ISS conducts tests before the final approach, grapple and docking of the capsule in this image captured from NASA TV. (NASA TV/Reuters)

: The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is seen with part of the International Space Station in the foreground as it holds position 30 meters (98 ft.) from the station as the crew of the ISS conducts final tests before the grapple and docking of the capsule in this image captured from NASA TV. (NASA TV/Reuters)

: The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is seen with the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 in the foreground as it holds position 30 meters (98 ft.) from the station as the crew of the ISS conducts final tests before the grapple and docking of the capsule in this image captured from NASA TV. (NASA TV/Reuters)

: The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is moved into position for docking with the International Space Station using the station’s Canadarm2 in this image captured from NASA TV. (NASA TV/Reuters)

: Flight controllers clap and celebrate at SpaceX mission control in Hawthorne, California as the Dragon commercial cargo craft is captured by the crew aboard the International Space Station using the Canadarm2 in this image from NASA TV. (NASA TV/Reuters)

: The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is moved into position for docking with the International Space Station using the station’s Canadarm2 in this image captured from NASA TV. (NASA TV/Reuters)

: In this frame grab from a NASA video, the robotic arm (bottom) of the International Space Station captures the SpaceX Dragon capsule. The successful maneuver makes SpaceX the first private company to rendezvous with the orbiting lab. (NASA/AFP Photo/GettyImages)

: In this frame grab from a NASA video, the robotic arm of the International Space Station holds the SpaceX Dragon capsule as astronauts prepare to dock the capsule with the station. SpaceX has become the first private company to rendezvous with the orbiting lab. (NASA/AFP Photo/GettyImages)

: The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft is moved into position for docking with the International Space Station using the station’s Canadarm2 in this closeup image captured from NASA TV. (NASA TV/Reuters)

: A berthing camera view shows the SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo craft as it is being moved into position for docking with the International Space Station in this image from NASA TV. (NASA TV/Reuters)

: April 15, 2010: US President Barack Obama tours the SpaceX launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Obama traveled to Florida in a bid to soothe critics of his plan to scrap an over-budget Moon launch program and reshape NASA’s future. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)

: December 8, 2010: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX successfully launched the Dragon space capsule into orbit, marking the first such attempt by a private enterprise that could pave the way for the future of space travel. The spacecraft was to circle the Earth twice before attempting a re-entry from low orbit and a splash landing into the Pacific Ocean, a risky operation that even the company said carried about a 70 percent likelihood of success. (Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images)

: April 5, 2011: SpaceX CEO and PayPal Founder Elon Musk unveiles the Falcon Heavy rocket at the National Press Club in Washington. SpaceX is scheduled to launch its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 19, 2012. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

: April 19, 2012: CEO Elon Musk ponders about the launch to the International Space Station in the mission control room at the Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp. If successful, it will be the first time a private company will dock with the International Space Station. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

: April 19, 2012: A worker at the Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, works on a capsule under construction. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

: April 19, 2012: CEO Elon Musk with the SpaceX Dragon capsule on display at the Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

: May, 18, 2012: SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 sits on Pad 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Titusville, Florida. The launch Saturday morning launch would make SpaceX the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. (Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images)

: May 18, 2012: The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket is being prepared for launch from Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. An Obama administration plan to cut the cost of spaceflight services faces a key test on Saturday, May 19 when a privately owned rocket attempts lift off for a practice run to the International Space Station. If successful, Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, would become the first private company to reach the $100 billion outpost, which flies about 240 miles (390 km) above Earth. (Pierre DuCharme/Reuters)

: May 19, 2012: The engines of the SpaceX Falcon 9 light but fail to launch from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Titusville, Florida. The launch, in the early hours of Saturday morning, would have made US firm SpaceX the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. (Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images)

: May 19, 2012: SpaceX attempts to launch its Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch was aborted right before the countdown reach zero when flames began curling beneath the rocket. It was quickly extinguished and full ignition was prevented by computer. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)

: May 19, 2012: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket remains on the launch pad as engineers check the main engine section. The launch attempt with the company’s Dragon capsule to the International Space Station from launch complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida was aborted when one of the nine main engine appeared to falter. (Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images)

: May 19, 2012: SpaceX workers gather at the Falcon 9 rocket engines after and attempt to launch its Falcon 9 rocket was aborted at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)

: May 19, 2012: SpaceX Pesident Gwynne Shotwell (L) and Alan Lindenmoyer, Manager of NASA Commercial Crew & Cargo Program, speak at a news conference at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch of a privately owned Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was delayed on Saturday when a computer detected a possible problem with one of the rocket’s engines, a Space Exploration Technologies official said. (Michael Brown/Reuters)

: May 19, 2012: SpaceX technicians work around the number five rocket engine on the SpaceX Falcon 9 in the Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (Pierre DuCharme/Reuters)

: May 21, 2012: News photographers work on their remote cameras as the SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket is being prepared for a second launch attempt from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral. The launch of SpaceX Falcon 9, scheduled for Tuesday, will mark for the first time a private company will send its own rocket to the orbiting International Space Station. (Michael Brown/Reuters)

: May 22, 2012: The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 as ground fog covers the pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The 178-foot (54-meter) tall Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:44 a.m. (0744 GMT) from a refurbished launch pad just south of where NASA launched its now-retired space shuttles. (Pierre DuCharme/Reuters)

: May 22, 2012: The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The unmanned rocket owned by privately held Space Exploration Technologies blasted off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday for a mission designed to be the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. The 178-foot (54-meter) tall Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:44 a.m. (0744 GMT) from a refurbished launch pad just south of where NASA launched its now-retired space shuttles. (Michael Brown/Reuters)

: May 22, 2012: A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft blasts off from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. SpaceX is the first private company to build a rocket for a mission to the International Space Station. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)

: May 22, 2012: SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft atop rocket Falcon 9 lifts off from Pad 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Titusville, Florida. The launch this morning makes SpaceX the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. (Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images)

: May 22, 2012: The SpaceX Falcon 9 test rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The mock shuttle Explorer, in the foreground, had been on display at the Kennedy Space Center Complex, and will be moved to the Johnson Space Center in Houston this week in order to make room for the arrival of Space Shuttle Atlantis. (Pierre DuCharme/Reuters)

: May 22, 2012: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket takes off early Tuesday morning as it heads for space carrying the company’s Dragon spacecraft from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Dragon capsule is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station in a few days. (Bruce Weave/AFP/Getty Images)

: May 22, 2012: NASA Administrator Charles Bolden speaks to the media and congratulates SpaceX after the Falcon 9 test rocket was launched successfully from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Michael Brown/Reuters)

SpaceX launches rocket to International Space Station
By: Scott Dance / Baltimore Sun

Space Exploration Technologies is vying to be the first private company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station, and its mission got off to a successful start with a launch this morning.

A Dragon spacecraft launched from the company’s launch pad at Cape Canaveral at 3:44 a.m. Tuesday. It will soon begin a series of tests in space to determine if it can indeed dock with the space station.

2 Comments

Latest Falcon Northwest News | Mr. Tech World
Jun 02, 2012 @ 06:22:04

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Margie Regan
May 22, 2012 @ 13:26:17

My husband and I watched the spacecraft fly through the Jacksonville, FL skies until it disappeared. What a wonderful sight!! The hairs on my arms stood up as I saw the red flare come out of the trees from our backyard. Out with Nasa (which was a sad event), and in with the new development of space flying. Congratulations and good luck!!!

SpaceX: To infinity and beyond, or at least the International Space Station for now

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