Rocket Launch Ushers in Era of Commercial Spaceflight
A private company launched a spacecraft into orbit Wednesday in a bold demonstration test for NASA that could lead to the first commercial space station supply run next year and eventual astronaut rides.
Space Exploration Technologies is the first private company to get its logo on the side of a rocket, blast it into outer space, make two orbits of Earth and then splashdown successfully in the Pacific Ocean. The company, along with another private space business Orbital Sciences will split a $3.5 billion NASA contract to send provisions and eventually people to the International Space Station, beginning next year when the U.S. space shuttle program ends.
The Falcon 9 rocket, tipped with the Dragon cargo or crew capsule, lifted off the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida Dec. 8, 2010, at 10:43 a.m. EST.
We want to see a future where we are exploring the stars, where we’re going to other planets, where we’re doing the great things that we read about in science fiction and in the movies. — Elon Musk, CEO SpaceX
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