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SpaceX (Hawthorne, Calif.), the first commercial space company to send a cargo ship to the space station, is scheduled to launch its first resupply mission under a NASA contract on Oct. 7. SpaceX successfully berthed its unmanned Dragon cargo ship to the station in May, fulfilling the requirements of a NASA contract that clears the way for 12 resupply missions under the space agencys Commercial Resupply Services initiative.

NASA said SpaceX will ferry about 1,000 pounds of supplies to the space station during the CRS-1 mission, including items being used for a range of scientific experiments. Dragon will return to Earth about 734 pounds of science experiments and space station hardware.

While NASA confirmed the readiness of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon capsule, previous SpaceX launches have been delayed by NASA to verify mission software essential for guiding the unmanned craft to the space station.

The space station commercial resupply program replaces the space shuttle, which was retired by NASA last year.

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SpaceX booked for October return to space station