Historic Launch Blasts SpaceX Rocket Dragon Into Space
At 3:44 a.m. this morning, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blasted off at last from Cape CanaveralAir Force Station on its way to a rendezvous with the International Space Station and possibly heralding a new era of space transportation.
On Thursday the Dragon should reach the station, orbiting the Earth at 17,000 mph. If a series of test maneuvers are successful, on Friday it would dock with the station and deliver a half ton of supplies.
With this launch, SpaceX opens the era in which private companies could offer the rides NASA needs to ferry supplies and eventually astronauts to and from the space station. It also furthers the ambitions of other government agencies and private companies around the world that want to run their own operations in space.
