Nascent launch provider SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket on 22 May on a mission to become the first commercial firm to resupply the International Space Station.
At the time of publication, the Falcon 9’s Dragon capsule had successfully…
Nascent launch provider SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket on 22 May on a mission to become the first commercial firm to resupply the International Space Station.
At the time of publication, the Falcon 9’s Dragon capsule had successfully locked onto the ISS, under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) demo programme.
If all continues to go well, ISS astronauts will be instructed to unload supplies, and refill the capsule, before it disconnects for a Pacific Ocean splashdown.
“We obviously have to go through a number of steps to berth with the Space Station, but everything is looking really good and I think I would count today as a success no matter what happens with the rest of the mission,” said SpaceX founder Elon Musk after the rocket’s successful liftoff.
SpaceX said the launch, which was initially scheduled for February but has faced a series of technical and operational delays, marked the third consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch, and the fifth straight launch success for the company.
If completely successful, SpaceX’s next mission will take place in mid-2012 under NASA’s US$1.6bn Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract for the ISS. Piggybacking on this mission will be a satellite for Orbcomm, the US-based M2M specialist operator. Orbcomm had originally planned to launch the first prototype satellite of its upcoming second generation OG2 programme on SpaceX’s COTS mission, but this was shifted to CRS in late 2011.
Also working towards CRS missions for the ISS is US aerospace group Orbital Sciences, which is set to launch its Cygnus capsule to the ISS next year.
In the meantime, SpaceX has been adding to its manifest of upcoming launches as it seeks to secure commercial heritage. Last April, it announced a contract with SES for a launch in 2013, when a Falcon 9 rocket is due to place a geostationary satellite for the first time.
