WASHINGTON -- Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) on May 22 successfully launched an unmanned Dragon capsule on a demonstration mission to the international space station (ISS).
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Dragon lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 3:44 a.m. EDT. Eleven minutes later, Dragon was in orbit, solar arrays deployed.
"Falcon flew perfectly!! Dragon in orbit, comm locked and solar arrays active!! Feels like a giant weight just came off my back," SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk said via Twitter.
Docking with the ISS is scheduled to occur May 25 at 11:05 a.m., assuming Dragon passes a series of confidence-building tests planned for the capsule's first three days of on-orbit operations.
The pre-dawn liftoff followed a May 19 launch attempt that was aborted at the last second when the Falcon 9's flight computer detected high pressure in one of the rocket's nine main stage engines. SpaceX engineers traced the problem to a faulty check valve, which was subsequently replaced.
"Today was the first of a number of milestones in this mission. What a spectacular start," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told reporters a little over an hour after the May 22 liftoff, which he described as "a picture-perfect launch." His remarks were carried live on NASA TV.
SpaceX, meanwhile, issued the following mission timeline:
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Dragon lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 3:44 a.m. EDT. Eleven minutes later, Dragon was in orbit, solar arrays deployed.
"Falcon flew perfectly!! Dragon in orbit, comm locked and solar arrays active!! Feels like a giant weight just came off my back," SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk said via Twitter.
Docking with the ISS is scheduled to occur May 25 at 11:05 a.m., assuming Dragon passes a series of confidence-building tests planned for the capsule's first three days of on-orbit operations.
The pre-dawn liftoff followed a May 19 launch attempt that was aborted at the last second when the Falcon 9's flight computer detected high pressure in one of the rocket's nine main stage engines. SpaceX engineers traced the problem to a faulty check valve, which was subsequently replaced.
"Today was the first of a number of milestones in this mission. What a spectacular start," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told reporters a little over an hour after the May 22 liftoff, which he described as "a picture-perfect launch." His remarks were carried live on NASA TV.
SpaceX, meanwhile, issued the following mission timeline:
May 23: Dragon orbits Earth as it travels toward the ISS.
May 24: Dragon
May 24: Dragon