SpaceX has postponed by a week its bid to become the first private company to attempt to launch an unmanned cargo vessel to the[FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]International [FONT=inherit !important]Space[/FONT][/FONT] Station.
[/FONT]"After reviewing our recent progress, it was clear that we needed more time to finish hardware-in-the-loop testing and properly review and follow up on all data," SpaceX spokeswoman [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]Kirstin [FONT=inherit !important]Brost[/FONT][/FONT]Grantham said late Monday.
[/FONT]"While it is still possible that we could launch on May 3rd, it would be wise to add a few more days of margin in case things take longer than expected.
"As a result, our launch is likely to be pushed back by one week, pending coordination with NASA," she said in a statement, adding that the company would announce the new target date once it was determined.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced the decision via Twitter, writing: "Am pushing launch back approx a week to do more testing on Dragon docking code. New date pending coordination with NASA."
Last Monday NASA said there was a good chance SpaceX would soon become the first private company to attempt to launch its spacecraft to the ISS on an unmanned cargo flight.
SpaceX aims to carry out a fly-by of the ISS and a berthing operation in which the reusable spacecraft, the Dragon, will approach the ISS as the crew aboard the [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]orbiting [FONT=inherit !important]outpost[/FONT][/FONT] uses a robotic arm to dock it.
[/FONT]The gumdrop-shaped [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]Dragon [FONT=inherit !important]capsule[/FONT][/FONT] will carry 521 kilograms (1,148 pounds) of cargo for the [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]space [/FONT][FONT=inherit !important]lab[/FONT][/FONT] and will also aim to return a 660 kg (1,455 lb) load to Earth, Michael Suffredini, ISS program manager, said last week.[/FONT]SpaceX -- owned by Internet entrepreneur and PayPal co-founder Musk -- made history with its Dragon launch in December 2010, becoming the first commercial outfit to send a spacecraft into orbit and back.
SpaceX and several other companies are competing to be the first to operate a private capsule that could tote astronauts and cargo to the ISS, after NASA retired its [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]shuttle [FONT=inherit !important]program[/FONT][/FONT] last year.
[/FONT]Russia's [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]Soyuz [FONT=inherit !important]capsule[/FONT][/FONT] is currently the world's sole means of transporting astronauts and cargo to the orbiting [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]space [/FONT][FONT=inherit !important]station[/FONT][/FONT].[/FONT]Other companies in the private space race include aerospace giant Boeing, the Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Washington state-based BlueOrigin LLC.
NASA has channeled $270 million to firms hoping to join the new[FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]commercial [FONT=inherit !important]space[/FONT][/FONT] race and hopes to foster a billion-dollar industry over the next decade.[/FONT]In a draft budget submitted to Congress in February, President Barack Obama requested $829 million to develop commercial flights to the ISS, partly to end US reliance on Russian craft to deliver astronauts and re-supply the station.
The privatization of space transport is expected to pave the way for tourism, with British tycoon Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic offering $200,000 reservations for journeys [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]into [FONT=inherit !important]space[/FONT][/FONT].
[/FONT]The company has already taken in $60 million in sales and deposits, with more than 500 individuals -- including Hollywood stars and other multi-millionaires -- adding their names to the list.
The prices of the only trips into space so far, which were sold to private individuals traveling on Russian spacecraft, have ranged from $45 million to as much as $150 million.
[/FONT]"After reviewing our recent progress, it was clear that we needed more time to finish hardware-in-the-loop testing and properly review and follow up on all data," SpaceX spokeswoman [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]Kirstin [FONT=inherit !important]Brost[/FONT][/FONT]Grantham said late Monday.
[/FONT]"While it is still possible that we could launch on May 3rd, it would be wise to add a few more days of margin in case things take longer than expected.
"As a result, our launch is likely to be pushed back by one week, pending coordination with NASA," she said in a statement, adding that the company would announce the new target date once it was determined.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced the decision via Twitter, writing: "Am pushing launch back approx a week to do more testing on Dragon docking code. New date pending coordination with NASA."
Last Monday NASA said there was a good chance SpaceX would soon become the first private company to attempt to launch its spacecraft to the ISS on an unmanned cargo flight.
SpaceX aims to carry out a fly-by of the ISS and a berthing operation in which the reusable spacecraft, the Dragon, will approach the ISS as the crew aboard the [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]orbiting [FONT=inherit !important]outpost[/FONT][/FONT] uses a robotic arm to dock it.
[/FONT]The gumdrop-shaped [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]Dragon [FONT=inherit !important]capsule[/FONT][/FONT] will carry 521 kilograms (1,148 pounds) of cargo for the [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]space [/FONT][FONT=inherit !important]lab[/FONT][/FONT] and will also aim to return a 660 kg (1,455 lb) load to Earth, Michael Suffredini, ISS program manager, said last week.[/FONT]SpaceX -- owned by Internet entrepreneur and PayPal co-founder Musk -- made history with its Dragon launch in December 2010, becoming the first commercial outfit to send a spacecraft into orbit and back.
SpaceX and several other companies are competing to be the first to operate a private capsule that could tote astronauts and cargo to the ISS, after NASA retired its [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]shuttle [FONT=inherit !important]program[/FONT][/FONT] last year.
[/FONT]Russia's [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]Soyuz [FONT=inherit !important]capsule[/FONT][/FONT] is currently the world's sole means of transporting astronauts and cargo to the orbiting [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]space [/FONT][FONT=inherit !important]station[/FONT][/FONT].[/FONT]Other companies in the private space race include aerospace giant Boeing, the Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation, and Washington state-based BlueOrigin LLC.
NASA has channeled $270 million to firms hoping to join the new[FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]commercial [FONT=inherit !important]space[/FONT][/FONT] race and hopes to foster a billion-dollar industry over the next decade.[/FONT]In a draft budget submitted to Congress in February, President Barack Obama requested $829 million to develop commercial flights to the ISS, partly to end US reliance on Russian craft to deliver astronauts and re-supply the station.
The privatization of space transport is expected to pave the way for tourism, with British tycoon Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic offering $200,000 reservations for journeys [FONT=inherit !important][FONT=inherit !important]into [FONT=inherit !important]space[/FONT][/FONT].
[/FONT]The company has already taken in $60 million in sales and deposits, with more than 500 individuals -- including Hollywood stars and other multi-millionaires -- adding their names to the list.
The prices of the only trips into space so far, which were sold to private individuals traveling on Russian spacecraft, have ranged from $45 million to as much as $150 million.