CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station captured Space Exploration Technologies' Dragon cargo ship and guided it into a berth on Friday, docking the first privately owned vehicle to reach the orbital outpost. Using the station's 58-foot long (17.7-meter) robotic crane, NASA astronaut Don Pettit snared Dragon at 9:56 a.m. EDT (1356 GMT) as the two ...
Go here to read the rest:
The privately owned and operated SpaceX Dragon capsule docked with the International Space Station on Friday, a success for the Obama administration’s new strategy of using robotic missions and public-private partnerships in space.
Originally posted here:
SpaceX, the upstart California rocket maker, launched a new era in spaceflight this morning when its Dragon capsule was captured by the International Space Station, concluding a cargo delivery trip previously made only by NASA space shuttles and other governments' spacecraft.
At 9:56 a.m. EDT, space station flight engineer Don Pettit reached out with a 58-foot robotic arm and grabbed the unmanned capsule, which was "free drifting" beneath the $100-billion station at 17,000 miles an hour, roughly 250 miles above northwest Australia.
"Houston, it looks like we got us a Dragon by the tail," Pettit declared. "We're thinking this went really well."
The capture came quickly, after two hours of delay and as NASA, the space station astronauts and SpaceX, the 10-year-old rocket company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, were contemplating another delay.
They had intended to wait until the station and Dragon were on the day-side of Earth, to make the grab in full sunlight. But shortly before 10 a.m., they decided to settle for dawn, which lit up the Dragon and the robotic arm while the Earth below remained dark.
Minutes later, NASA TV showed the robotic arm carrying Dragon across a bright Earth backdrop.
"Once again SpaceX has done it. They have become the first private company to successfully launch their own spacecraft and get it captured by the International Space Station's robotic arm," said NASA commentator Josh Byerly.
NASA TV then turned to the celebrations: hugs all around at SpaceX's Mission Control room in Hawthorne, Calif., and handshakes at NASA's Mission Control room at Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Over the next several hours, U.S. astronauts Pettit and Joe Abaca, as well as flight engineer Andres Kuipers of The Netherlands, will use the robotic arm to slowly reel in the 7,300-pound spacecraft and its half-ton of supplies and mate it to a portal in the space station's Harmony module. Then the astronauts will connect power and communication cables. They hope to be done by 5 p.m.
Hatches, though, won't be opened until Saturday morning. At that time, the ISS astronauts, who also include three Russians, will unload 1,146 pounds of food, clothing, supplies and science experiment kits delivered by SpaceX. Then they will reload Dragon with about 1,455 pounds of science experiment kits, trash and personal items to go back to Earth.
View post:
Space Station astronauts capture Dragon capsule, make history
An astronaut using the International Space Station's robot arm successfully plucks a commercial cargo ship out of open space to complete a dramatic rendezvous.
Gotcha! The robotic arm of the International Space Station captures the Dragon capsule.
In a moment of high drama on the high frontier, flight engineer Donald Pettit, operating the International Space Station's robot arm, this morning reached out and locked onto SpaceX's Dragon capsule.
That capture of the commercial cargo ship came after a complex rendezvous, a final sequence of approach-and-retreat test maneuvers and quick work to adjust critical sensors that were getting fooled by reflections from a Japanese research module.
The last-minute hiccups were just that, relatively minor adjustments to correct for the real-world performance of complex laser and infrared imagers used to compute the Dragon cargo ship's velocity and distance from the station.
The SpaceX Dragon cargo ship as seen from the International Space Station Friday, poised just below the lab complex awaiting capture by the station's robot arm.
But like everything in the world of manned spaceflight, where the stakes are high and the margins for error small, flight controllers in Houston and at SpaceX's Hawthorne, Calif., control center took their time, inserting additional checks to make sure everything was working properly.
Now running well behind schedule, flight controllers left it up to Pettit as to whether he felt comfortable grappling the spacecraft in orbital darkness or would prefer delaying to the next daylight pass depending on lighting conditions. When all was said and done, the crew was about two hours behind schedule when the Dragon completed its approach, halting at a designated capture point 30 feet directly below the lab complex.
As the huge space station and the diminutive cargo craft flew in tandem at 5 miles per second, Pettit, working inside the lab's multi-window cupola module, decided to press ahead in orbital darkness, guiding the arm's latching end effector onto a grapple fixture on the side of the cargo ship at 9:56 a.m. EDT (GMT-4). Internal snares were tightened to secure the spacecraft to the arm, completing a rendezvous that began with Dragon's launch Tuesday from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Like a bird swooping to its perch, the Dragon cargo ship moves into position for capture at the International Space Station.
See original here:
22-05-2012 03:20 The historic first commercial spacecraft to supply the International Space Station launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on May 22th, 2012. If it passes all on-orbit demonstrations, it will dock with ISS on May 25th. Credit: NASA / SpaceX
Read more:
Lift-Off! SpaceX Dragon Heads to Space Station | Video - Video
The first private spaceship is headed to the International Space Station. Some questions and answers about the cargo mission by Space Exploration Technologies, known as SpaceX:
Read the original post:
Opening a new, entrepreneurial era in spaceflight, a ship built by a billionaire businessman sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies Tuesday after a spectacular middle-of-the-night blastoff.
The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon capsule marked the first time a commercial spacecraft has been sent to the orbiting outpost.
Tracing a fiery arc across the night sky, the rocket lifted off just before 4 a.m. and smoothly boosted the capsule into orbit. The capsule is expected to rendezvous with the space station within days, delivering a half-ton of provisions for its six crew members.
It is considered just a test flight in fact, the capsule was packed with only nonessential items, in case something went disastrously wrong but if all goes well with this mission and others like it, commercial spaceships could be carrying astronauts to and from the space station in three to five years.
"Falcon flew perfectly!!" billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, founder of the SpaceX company, said via Twitter. "Feels like a giant weight just came off my back."
Musk later told reporters: "For us, it's like winning the Super Bowl."
Up to now, flights to the space station were something only major governments had done.
The White House offered congratulations.
"Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting," said John Holdren, President Barack Obama's chief science adviser. "This expanded role for the private sector will free up more of NASA's resources to do what NASA does best tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space, including those of human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit."
NASA is looking to the private sector to take over flights to the space station now that the space shuttle has been retired. Several U.S. companies are vying for the opportunity.
Read the original here:
If all goes as planned, the first private spacecraft will dock at the International Space Station on Thursday. It will be a historic moment for all humanity in mastering new ways to break the bounds of Earth and tap the ingenuity of commercial companies for space exploration.
Original post:
A commercial rocket blasted off early Tuesday with a load of supplies for the International Space Station, opening a new era of dollar-driven spaceflight.
More:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- A first-of-its-kind commercial supply ship rocketed toward the International Space Station following a successful liftoff early Tuesday, opening a new era of dollar-driven spaceflight.
The SpaceX company made history as its Falcon 9 rocket rose from its seaside launch pad and pierced the pre-dawn sky, aiming for a rendezvous in a few days with the space station. The unmanned rocket carried into orbit a capsule named Dragon that is packed with 1,000 pounds of space station provisions.
It is the first time a private company has launched a vessel to the space station. Before, that was something only major governments had done.
"Falcon flew perfectly!!" SpaceX's billionaire founder, Elon Musk, said via Twitter. "Dragon in orbit ... Feels like a giant weight just came off my back."
Musk later told reporters: "I feel very lucky ... For us, it's like winning the Super Bowl."
This time, the Falcon's nine engines kept firing all the way through liftoff. On Saturday, flight computers aborted the launch with a half-second remaining in the countdown; a bad engine valve was replaced.
The White House quickly offered congratulations.
"Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting," said John Holdren, President Barack Obama's chief science adviser. "This expanded role for the private sector will free up more of NASA's resources to do what NASA does best tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space, including those of human space flight beyond low Earth orbit."
Flight controllers applauded when the Dragon reached orbit nine minutes into the flight, then embraced one another once the solar panels on the spacecraft popped open. Many of the SpaceX controllers wore untucked T-shirts and jeans or even shorts, a stark contrast to NASA's old suit-and-tie shuttle crowd.
The hopes of SpaceX employees were riding on that rocket, Musk noted, and everyone felt "tremendous elation."
Read more from the original source:
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An unmanned rocket owned by privately held Space Exploration Technologies blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Tuesday on the first commercial flight to the International Space Station. The 178-foot (54-meter) tall Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:44 a.m. EDT from a refurbished launch pad just south of where NASA launched its now-retired space ...
Link:
This is the first privately-funded spaceflight to the International Space Station; it launched Tuesday after a scrubbed mission over the weekend.
Opening a new, entrepreneurial era in spaceflight, a ship built by a billionaire businessman sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies Tuesday after a spectacular middle-of-the-night blastoff.
The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and its unmanned Dragon capsule marked the first time a commercial spacecraft has been sent to the orbiting outpost.
Tracing a fiery arc across the night sky, the rocket lifted off just before 4 a.m. and smoothly boosted the capsule into orbit. The capsule is expected to rendezvous with the space station within days, delivering a half-ton of provisions for its six crew members.
It is considered just a test flight in fact, the capsule was packed with only nonessential items, in case something went disastrously wrong but if all goes well with this mission and others like it, commercial spaceships could be carrying astronauts to and from the space station in three to five years.
"Falcon flew perfectly!!" billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, founder of theSpaceXcompany, said via Twitter. "Feels like a giant weight just came off my back."
Musk later told reporters: "For us, it's like winning the Super Bowl."
Up to now, flights to the space station were something only major governments had done.
The White House offered congratulations.
"Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting," said John Holdren, President Barack Obama's chief science adviser. "This expanded role for the private sector will free up more of NASA's resources to do what NASA does best tackle the most demanding technological challenges in space, including those of human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit."
More:
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- A new era in space exploration dawned Tuesday as a slender rocket shot 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.
Opinion: Private space travel -- A new era begins?
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.
Stellar week for SpaceX founder Elon Musk
"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. Its solar array panels deployed later Tuesday.
Read the original here:
Opening a new, entrepreneurial era in spaceflight, a ship built by a billionaire businessman sped toward the International Space Station with a load of groceries and other supplies Tuesday after a spectacular middle-of-the-night blastoff.
View original post here:
By Brendan McGarry - 2012-05-20T04:00:07Z
Roger Gilbertson/SpaceX via Bloomberg
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photographer: Roger Gilbertson/SpaceX via Bloomberg
A U.S. mission to send the first unmanned commercial spacecraft to the International Space Station was aborted with a half second left in the countdown.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.s Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the companys Dragon capsule, attempted to lift off at 4:55 a.m. yesterday from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A computer detected an engine pressure problem, grounding the rocket and delaying the flight for a new attempt May 22.
The closely held company, known as SpaceX and led by billionaire Elon Musk, was trying to make history by docking its vehicle with the station. The U.S. government retired its own shuttle fleet last year and relies on other countries for rides to space. The U.S. wants the private sector to take over the job of ferrying supplies to and from the lab.
This is not a failure, Gwynne Shotwell, president of Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX, said during a National Aeronautics and Space Administration press conference after the scrubbed attempt. We aborted with purpose. It would be a failure if we were to have lifted off with an engine trending in this direction.
The engines ignited and rumbled momentarily before going silent. An on-board computer aborted the launch a half-second before liftoff after detecting high pressure in engine five, possibly caused by a fuel valve malfunction, Shotwell said. An inspection later yesterday found a faulty valve on the engine, and it was to be replaced last night.
The software did what it was supposed to do -- aborted engine five, and it went through the remaining engine shutdown, she said. The Falcon 9 rocket needs all nine engines for liftoff and at least seven to achieve orbit.
More here:
SpaceX’s Commercial Launch to Space Station Aborted at Liftoff
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Nerves are frayed here on Florida's space coast as commercial company SpaceX prepares to launch its Dragon capsule on the first-ever flight of a private vehicle to the International Space Station.
Read the original here:
Stakes High for 1st Private Rocket Launch to Space Station Saturday
Enlarge Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images
SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 at Cape Canaveral in Florida was scheduled to launch Saturday morning, but aborted just before liftoff.
SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 at Cape Canaveral in Florida was scheduled to launch Saturday morning, but aborted just before liftoff.
Moments after ignition, a privately funded spacecraft aborted its liftoff, delaying its mission to the International Space Station.
SpaceX's unmanned rocket had a one-second window to take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Saturday morning, and the failed launch means the next opportunity won't be until early Tuesday morning.
The founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, had been tweeting from the company's California headquarters leading up to the scheduled launch time of 4:55 a.m. ET.
"Whatever happens today, we could not have done it without @NASA, but errors are ours alone and me most of all," he said.
The successful launch would have been just the beginning in a series of tests for the private spacecraft.
The Dragon capsule, perched atop the Falcon 9 rocket, would become the first commercial spacecraft to visit the International Space Station. Even after it eventually launches, though, it will be a few days filled with more trials before the Dragon can berth.
Update at 10:04 a.m. ET. Shutdown A Half-Second To Launch:
See the rest here:
SpaceX's historic launch to the International Space Station was aborted in the pre-dawn hours at Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Saturday when computers detected a problem with one of the rocket's nine engines and automatically shut down.
Countdown to the launch, which was webcast on NASA TV, hit T-0 at 4:55 a.m. Eastern time when the rocket engines seemed to briefly light before the technical problem hit.
Elon Musk, SpaceX founder and chief executive, tweeted shortly afterward: "Launch aborted: slightly high combustion chamber pressure on engine 5. Will adjust limits for countdown in a few days."
The next window for the Hawthorne company to launch is May 22 at 3:44 a.m. Eastern (12:44 a.m. Pacific).
SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is launching its Falcon 9 rocket in a demonstration flight for NASA. The unmanned docking mission to the space station is intended to prove to NASA that SpaceXs rocket and space capsule are ready to take on the task of hauling cargo for the space agency now that the space shuttle fleet has been retired.
NASA has already begun hiring privately funded start-up companies for spacecraft development and is moving toward eventually outsourcing NASA space missions.
When SpaceX does launch, the company is set to make history when its Dragon capsule docks with the space station three days later, marking the first time that a privately built craft has docked.
During the mission, SpaceX aims to do a flyby of the $100-billion space station, then approach it so the space station crew can snag it with a robotic arm and dock it.
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC: SpaceX's demonstration mission
SpaceX, profiled in The Times on Tuesday, already has a $1.6-billion contract to haul cargo in 12 flights to the space station for NASA. If the upcoming mission is successful, SpaceX would start to fulfill the contract in earnest. SpaceX also plans to carry astronauts to the space station one day.
Read more:
SpaceX's historic launch to space station scrubbed at last second
From John Zarrella, CNN
updated 11:23 PM EDT, Sat May 19, 2012 |
SpaceX: Launch abort 'not a failure'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
(CNN) -- SpaceX's launch of the first private spacecraft bound for the International Space Station has been rescheduled for next week after the mission was aborted Saturday a half a second before liftoff, the company said.
The historic launch of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, with its Dragon capsule filled with food, supplies and science experiments, was halted when a flight computer detected "high pressure in the engine 5 combustion chamber," the company said in a statement.
"We have discovered the root cause and repairs are underway," it said.
CNN explains: Commercial space flight
SpaceX now plans a pre-dawn launch as early as Tuesday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff is scheduled for 3:44 a.m. ET, according to the statement released late Saturday.
"During rigorous inspections of the engine, SpaceX engineers discovered a faulty check valve on the Merlin engine. We are now in the process of replacing the failed valve," the company said Saturday. "Those repairs should be complete tonight."
Originally posted here:
Private mission to space station scrubbed half a second before liftoff
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- For the first time, a private company will launch a rocket to the International Space Station, sending it on a grocery run this weekend that could be the shape of things to come for America's space program.
If this unmanned flight and others like it succeed, commercial spacecraft could be ferrying astronauts to the orbiting outpost within five years.
It's a transition that has been in the works since the middle of the last decade, when President George W. Bush decided to retire the space shuttle and devote more of NASA's energies to venturing deeper into space.
Saturday's flight by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is "a thoroughly exciting moment in the history of spaceflight, but is just the beginning of a new way of doing business for NASA," said President Barack Obama's chief science adviser, John Holdren.
By handing off space station launches to private business, "NASA is freeing itself up to focus on exploring beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in 40 years."
California-based Space Exploration, or SpaceX, is the first of several companies hoping to take over the space station delivery business for the U.S. The company's billionaire mastermind, Elon Musk, puts the odds of success in his favor while acknowledging the chance for mishaps.
NASA likewise cautions: This is only a test.
"We need to be careful not to assume that the success or failure of commercial spaceflight is going to hang in the balance of this single flight," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager. "Demo flights don't always go as planned."
Once it nears the space station after a two-day flight, the SpaceX capsule, called Dragon, will spend a day of practice maneuvers before NASA signals it to move in for a linkup. Then its cargo a half-ton of food and other pantry items, all nonessential, in case the flight goes awry will be unloaded.
Up to now, flights to the space station have always been a government-only affair.
More here: