A new era in space exploration dawned Tuesday as a slender rocket powered into the dark Florida sky before sunrise, carrying the first private spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.
“We’re now back on the brink of a new future, a future that embraces the innovation the private sector brings to the table,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “The significance of this day cannot be overstated.”
The unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida at 3:44 a.m., carrying 1,300 pounds of food, clothing and scientific experiments on a demonstration mission to gauge the company’s ability to safely and efficiently deliver supplies to astronauts staffing the orbiting station.
If successful, the test could open the door to a wave of commercial exploitation of space.
Tuesday’s launch marks the culmination of six years of preparation to bring commercial flights to the space station following the retirement of NASA’s space shuttle fleet last year. It’s backed by entrepreneur Elon Musk, the founder of PayPal.
“Every bit of adrenaline in my body released at that moment,” Musk said of the launch in a statement released by NASA. “People were really giving it their all. For us, it was like winning the Super Bowl.”
The rocket launched without a hitch following a flawless countdown that came three days after a faulty valve on one of the rocket’s engines forced a last-second postponement.
At 180 feet tall and 12 feet around, the Falcon 9 rocket is tiny in comparison to the football-field long Saturn V rockets that carried Apollo spacecraft into orbit. It carries the company’s Dragon cargo capsule capable of carrying 13,228 pounds of supplies into orbit, the company said.
The capsule is scheduled to perform a series of maneuvers that should bring it within reach of the space station’s robotic arm on Friday. If NASA gives the go-ahead, the crew will use the arm to attach the capsule to the station and begin unloading supplies, according to SpaceX.
It will remain attached to the station for two weeks. It will then plummet back into the atmosphere and splash into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, according to SpaceX.
The cargo manifest for the trip includes 674 pounds of food, clothing and miscellaneous supplies, 46 pounds of supplies for use in science experiments, 271 pounds of cargo bags for use in future flights and 22 pounds of computer equipment.
It will return with science experiments, hardware and used gear.
The launch is an important step for NASA and the United States, which currently has no means of independently reaching space. NASA relies on the Russian space agency to ferry U.S. astronauts to orbit.
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
3 Responses
What is the difference in cost when done by a private firm vs. done by the government?
#1 what you would expect. A private company tries not to waste money.
#1. A commercial launch is between one half and one tenth the cost of a government launch.
This is a monumental event in the history of space flight.