Space X Dragon Launches For International Space Station

SpaceX launched an unmanned Dragon Capsule to the International Space Station during the night hours of October 7. The unmanned vehicle is designed for providing the basic requirements such as clothes, food and scientific experiments to astronauts in the space station. 

The company did a successful test flight of the capsule during the month of May and expects to repeat the success story this time around also. The unmanned Dragon space capsule lifted off from a pad based in Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States. The capsule was launched on 00.35 Monday GMT. 

SpaceX earlier had signed a $1.6 billion agreement with NASA. The total contract calls for 12 deliveries. Sources suggest that Dragon capsule will be spending some weeks in the Space Station after which it will return with a complete load of scientific explorations and older equipments. The unmanned vehicle will then make its landing in the Pacific Ocean. 

Reports suggest that the space capsule will be returning from the Space Station with a considerable number of student experiments which were sent way back in May but were not successfully activated by the station crew. 

SpaceX also known as ‘Space Exploration Technologies Corp’ is a private business group operated by Elon Musk who is the co-founder of PayPal and CEO of Tesla Motors. SpaceX is one among the very few private businesses to head to International Space Station ever since NASA opened up their Space Station to private businesses. As of now, only government of Russia, Japan and Europe provide periodic runs in to the Space Station with all other shuttles having retired. 

Another private business named Orbital Sciences Corp is also planning to launch its Antares Rocket with a mock up capsule by the year end. Their first test flight to the Space Station is scheduled to happen during the beginning of year 2013.