Tuesday, May 22, 2012

SpaceX Sees Successful Launch

Hawthorne-based SpaceX had a successful launch this morning at 3:44 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral, lifting off on its historic mission to the International Space Station. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, along with its Dragon cargo capsule, reached orbit early this morning, after a series of delays. The company had aborted its prior launch on Saturday after an issue with the rocket. The SpaceX Dragon is carring 1200 pounds of supplies for the crew of the station, plus a number of student experiments. The Dragon is expected to connect to the International Space Station in the next few days, and will remain connected for about three weeks, before returning to earth. If the Dragon sucessfully docks with the ISS, it will be a historic first time for a commercially built rocket and spacecraft. SpaceX is headed by technology mogul Elon Musk.

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