SpaceX successfully launches first International Space Station re-supply mission
Last night, SpaceX launched more than 1,000 pounds of supplies bound for the International Space Station on the first of 12 missions in its 1.6 billion USD contract with NASA. The Dragon capsule, propelled by a Falcone9 rocket, will join up with the station in three days bringing clothing, equipment and more science experiments.
UPDATE: Ars Technica is now reporting that one of the nine rockets on the Falcon 9 may have exploded before reaching orbit. Follow that story HERE.
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- October 5, 2012: Technicians attach the Dragon capsule to a Falcon 9 rocket at the SpaceX facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, during preparations for the CRS-1 mission. (NASA/HO/AFP/Getty mages
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- October 7, 2012: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon lays on its side before being raised into launch position as it is prepared for a scheduled evening launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: People watch as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon is raised into launch position as it is prepared for a scheduled evening launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon sits on the lauch pad for a scheduled evening launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon is seen surrounded lightning protection system towers as it sits on the launch pad for a scheduled evening launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon sits on the lauch pad for a scheduled evening launch in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: Photographers set up remote cameras as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon space craft are readied for an evening launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to the International Space Station. (Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Image)
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- October 7, 2012: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon lifts off from the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts off launching the cargo-laden Dragon capsule into orbit en route to the International Space Station for NASA’s first privately-run supply mission. (Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts off launching the cargo-laden Dragon capsule into orbit en route to the International Space Station for NASA’s first privately-run supply mission. (Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: A Falcon9 rocket carrying a Dragon capsule blasts off Sunday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)
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- October 7, 2012: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon lifts off from the launch pad on in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon lifts off from the launch pad on in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasts off carrying the company’s Dragon CRX-1 spacecraft from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Bruce Weaver/AFP/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon lifts off from the launch pad on in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon lifts off from the launch pad on in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: Gwynne Shotwell, left, president of SpaceX and Charles Bolden, NASA administrator, smile after Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon blasts off Sunday on a historic launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. (Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/MCT)
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- October 7, 2012: A 30 second camera exposure shows SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon as it lifts off from the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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- October 7, 2012: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Michael Brown/Reuters)
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- October 7, 2012: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket attached to the cargo-only capsule called Dragon after it lifted off from the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
MORE: SpaceX: To infinity and beyond, or at least the International Space Station for now
SpaceX hurtles toward space station as NASA dreams big
Amy Hubbard | LA Times
October 8, 2012, 7:00 a.m.
SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched Sunday, and by Wednesday morning the International Space Station crew should be greeting it with open arms.
NASA’s Sunita Williams, ISS commander, and Japanese colleague Aki Hoshide will stretch out the station’s robotic arm to install the Dragon on Wednesday at 4:22 a.m. (7:22 a.m. Eastern), according to NASA. The Dragon will be attached to the station for 18 days before heading back to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific off Southern California.
There was a sense of euphoria at NASA and SpaceX, or Space Exploration Technologies Corp., with the kickoff of a mission that inaugurates a new era for NASA — one in which private companies resupply the station by contract with NASA.
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