A commercial rocket blasts off for International Space Station, opening new era of spaceflight
Posted May 22, 2012 03:49:18 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A commercial rocket has blasted off with a load of supplies for the International Space Station.
The SpaceX company’s Falcon 9 rocket took flight at 3:44 a.m. Tuesday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, opening a new era of spaceflight. It carried a capsule named Dragon that is packed with 1,000 pounds of space station provisions.
This is the first time a private business has launched a vessel to the space station. That’s something only major governments have done — until now.
The real test comes Thursday when the Dragon gets close to the space station. It will undergo practice manoeuvrs from more than a mile out. If all goes well, the docking will occur Friday.
NASA and SpaceX stress that this is a demonstration flight.
