SpaceX Launch: Falcon 9 Rocket Blasts Off Carrying Dragon Capsule To ISS (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Second time's a charm.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station early Tuesday morning, carrying the Dragon capsule payload that, if all goes according to plan, will dock with the International Space Station later this week.

This is the first time a private company has attempted to berth a spacecraft with the International Space Station.

This was SpaceX's second attempt to launch the Falcon 9 rocket. A launch planned for early Saturday morning was aborted after abnormally high pressure was detected in one of the engine's combustion chambers, causing the computers to automatically shut down the rocket's nine engines less than one second before liftoff.

Over the next several days, the Dragon spacecraft, which separated from the rocket's second stage fewer than ten minutes after launch, will orbit Earth and undergo maneuverability and system tests to make sure it's fit to dock with the space station.

Then, with NASA's approval, the Dragon capsule, which is carrying about 1,000 pounds of food, clothing and water, will attempt to dock with the ISS on Friday.

“We obviously have to go through a number of steps to berth with the Space Station, but everything is looking really good and I think I would count today as a success no matter what happens with the rest of the mission,” Elon Musk, the CEO and Chief Designer of SpaceX, said at a news conference following the launch, according to press materials.

From Space.com:

The flight is a trial run for SpaceX's plan to deliver cargo, and eventually crew, to the space station. The mission is partially funded by NASA's COTS (Commercial Orbital Transportation Services) program, and the firm has a NASA contract to fly 12 delivery missions to the outpost once test flights are completed.

NASA awarded $381 million to SpaceX as part of a 2006 agreement, according to press materials from the company. SpaceX has spent $1 billion over the last decade, according to the Associated Press.

NASA has also awarded $266 million to Orbital Sciences Corp., a Virginia-based space technology company, which has a goal of launching a rocket and spacecraft by the end of the year.

"Congratulations to the teams at SpaceX and NASA for this morning’s successful launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida," John P. Holdren, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, said in a statement after the launch. "Every launch into space is a thrilling event, but this one is especially exciting because it represents the potential of a new era in American spaceflight."

This post has been updated with comments from Elon Musk.

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• The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:44 a.m., carrying the Dragon spacecraft.

• The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket is seen during a time exsposure as it lifts off from space launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., early Tuesday, May 22, 2012. This launch marks the first time, a private company sends its own rocket to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.(AP Photo/John Raoux)

• Andre Kuipers, Donald Pettit

  In this April 20, 2012 NASA/European Space Agency photo, Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, left, and American astronaut Donald Pettit await the arrival of the SpaceX Dragon supply capsule after its scheduled launch aboard the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station. Private rocket maker SpaceX aimed for a Tuesday liftoff after fixing the engine problem that caused a launch abort over the weekend. If launched Tuesday, May 22, the Dragon will reach the space station Thursday and undergo a series of practice maneuvers from more than a mile out. Then on Friday, the capsule will fly within reach of the station's 58-foot robot arm, which will snare it and berth it to the orbiting lab. The arm will be operated by astronauts Pettit,and Kuipers, two of the six station residents. (AP Photo/NASA/European Space Agency)

• The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket stands on space launch complex 40 ready for another launch attempt at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 21, 2012. After an aborted attempt with a half-second remaining before liftoff last Saturday, SpaceX is set to launch early on Tuesday, May 22. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

• Photographers set up remote cameras to cover a launch attempt of the Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket at space launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, May 21, 2012. After an aborted attempt with a half-second remaining before liftoff last Saturday, SpaceX is set to launch early on Tuesday, May 22. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

• SpaceX Rocket To Become The First Non-Governmental Vehicle To Reach Int'l Space Station

  TITUSVILLE, FL - MAY 22: SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft atop rocket Falcon 9 lifts off from Pad 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Titusville, Florida. The launch this morning makes SpaceX the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. (Photo by Roberto Gonzalez/Getty Images)

• In this Nov. 16, 2011, photo provided by NASA, the SpaceX Dragon capsule is lifted to be placed atop its cargo ring inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The first commercial cargo run to the International Space Station has been delayed again for more software testing. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, was aiming for a Monday, April 30, 2012, liftoff of its Falcon rocket and Dragon capsule. But on Wednesday, May 2, the California-based company announced its latest postponement and said a new launch date had not been set. (AP Photo/NASA, Kim Shiflett)

• CEO of SpaceX And Tesla Motors Makes Announcement On SpaceX's Latest Venture

  WASHINGTON - APRIL 5: Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp, pauses while speaking during a news conference at the National Press Club April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) and Tesla Motors, held the news conference to announce SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket which could complete missions to the International Space Station and Moon and should be ready for use by the end of 2012. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

• CEO of SpaceX And Tesla Motors Makes Announcement On SpaceX's Latest Venture

  WASHINGTON - APRIL 5: Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp, speaks during a news conference at the National Press Club April 5, 2011 in Washington, DC. Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) and Tesla Motors, held the news conference to announce SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket which could complete missions to the International Space Station and Moon and should be ready for use by the end of 2012. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)

• US President Barack Obama tours SpaceX l

  US President Barack Obama tours SpaceX launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 15, 2010. Obama traveled to Florida in a bid to soothe critics of his plan to scrap an over-budget Moon launch program and reshape NASA's future. AFP PHOTO/Jewel SAMAD (Photo credit should read JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)

Comments

[Gary Carroll]

11:00 AM on 05/31/2012

Congratulation to the launch crew and the entire team for the Falcon Rocket flight to the International Space Station.
There are a number of things that need clarification as being reported in our sensational media reporting.
This Falcon fight is NOT the first privately launched rocket flight out of earth’s orbit. There have been dozens of privately funded rocket launches over the past 20 years that included telecommunication satellites, television satellites, earth imagery scanning and weather satellites.


Also the Falcon Rocket DOES NOT represent any technological advancements or major breakthroughs in space exploration.
In fact, the Falcon Rocket is based on 1970’s technology for launch systems and vehicle assembly along with upgrades for guidance control.

So when you hear reports from our mainstream media that read ‘Historic launch’ or ‘A first in space exploration from a private company’ ---understand that it over the top sensational reporting.
It is far from a technological advancement.

To be sure, the USA no longer has the capability to launch people into space or return astronauts from the international space station. This is the first time in over 50 years that America no longer possesses the capability of launching humans into space.

The media reporting is spinning these facts to assist the Obama administration in damage control after cancelling the Orion and Constellation projects in 2009. These projects were designed to replace the ‘Space Shuttle’ program that was scheduled for retirement in 2011.

[Gary Carroll]

10:59 AM on 05/31/2012

The Huffington Post even ran a story last month that listed the demise of USA scientific advancements. Particularly in the field of physics.
Consider the USA stopped production on the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory on September 30, 2011. That combined with the cancellation of the world’s largest super collider project in Waxahachie, Texas in 1994 by the Clinton Administration as seriously impacted America’s ability in scientific advancements for the foreseeable future.

What Americans witnessed a few weeks ago when the shuttle circled Washington DC three times was not a display of our technological might.
No--Instead, it was a funeral.

[Scott G Howell]

02:53 AM on 05/28/2012

I keep watching this launch over and over. It mesmerizes me.

[Iriss]

08:28 PM on 05/24/2012

SpaceX.... Planet X...

X is the science fiction's new favorite letter.

[SidTheScienceKid]

05:50 PM on 05/28/2012

X files ? :)

[Iriss]

05:59 PM on 05/28/2012

Oh, I didnt even think of that XD

[Brad Giordani]

09:31 PM on 05/23/2012

This was "only" made posible by the reductions at nasa. Government programs limit competition. The less government the more commercial off the self technology will reach the public. Government workers block commercial innovation because it reduces their swelled ranks.

[erhuh]

01:33 PM on 05/24/2012

NASA's budget hasnt changed much at all. But they were overreaching and on an unsustainable path to try to develop multiple rockets. When the government owns the rocket it's a huge expense whose cost is carried by the taxpayers only. When private industry owns it, the government just buys a ticket like anyone else and pays nothing when it's not flying.

NASA is still trying to develop a single large rocket for beyond Earth. That might be better handled by commercial as well but the politics won't allow for it today.

[Brad Giordani]

09:36 AM on 05/25/2012

The Russians are taking us up to the space station because the shuttle is retired. This saved Nasa a ton of dough.

[timbeaux]

11:03 AM on 05/23/2012

This is great. More power to SpaceX. They've risked a billion dollars (money that did not come from the American taxpayer) to get this far, and have received $381 million in government grants. The basic claim is that they can cut by 2/3ds the cost of ferrying materials and, eventually, people to the shuttle. That money gets spent in America, not given to Russia. SpaceX employs lots of people and subcontracts to other companies, many of which are in the USA. And it puts America back in the space game.

What's not to like? Especially since the government has decided that space isn't important any more.

[adika3z]

04:39 AM on 05/23/2012

american own spaceX and not ussr russia,
american own space shuttle and not ussr russia,
american own ISS and not ussr russia anymore,
american own spacecraft to outer space and not need ussr russia forever,
american can going to mars and not need ussr russia,
american is the best great peace wonderful country in the whole world but not ussr russia,
american have own currency and not need ussr russia rubles,
'
ussr russia have own MIR and not need american,
ussr russia have own SS-18 missile / brahmos missile and not need american,
ussr russia can going to venus and not need american,
ussr russia love american currency,

[AfisF]

06:20 AM on 05/23/2012

adika3z what's the point of this (mostly inaccurate) comment?
adika3z what's the point of this (mostly inaccurate) comment?
adika3z what's the point of this (mostly inaccurate) comment?
adika3z what's the point of this (mostly inaccurate) comment?
adika3z what's the point of this (mostly inaccurate) comment?
adika3z what's the point of this (mostly inaccurate) comment?
adika3z what's the point of this (mostly inaccurate) comment?

[lori279187]

02:49 PM on 05/25/2012

Point is: american not need ussr russia, but ussr russia still need american for money. (Please add ussr russia accent to all read in your mind.)

[AfisF]

03:18 AM on 05/23/2012

My question is, is this really a cheaper alternative? I don't know how much the launch alone costs. But, assuming NASA will be using these to transport cargo and later on people to the ISS, then the private company will have to X2 the cost of launch to break even, and about a 20% mark up for profit (after all, that is the end game here). Since the astronauts and cosmanauts on the ISS aren't going to be paying for the cargo or the tranist out of their own pockets, then it's left up to the taxpayers.

[codifex]

03:34 AM on 05/23/2012

One of the main differences is that the private company has to turn a profit. In that case, they'll work on increasing the margin which means research. Throw in competition and you get choice and, often, lower prices.

[Robert Chute]

01:20 PM on 05/23/2012

Capitalism works man, This starts lowering the prices, space tourism would become something that even normal people could enjoy. Mars, the moon, etc, with private corporations, not as much red tape, etc. We could branch out without all that red tape, and it would be cheaper.

[jsarets]

09:28 AM on 05/23/2012

I don't know where you're getting the 2x multiplier from, but here's the basics:

The traditional procurement model for NASA and DoD is cost-plus contracting. The government customer generated detailed design specifications, and private contractors submit bids as to how much they think it will cost them to execute.

The lowest-bidding contractor generally wins, and under the contract terms, they are compensated for the actual cost of executing the contract, plus a built-in profit margin. Hence "cost-plus". There is tremendous pressure to low-ball the bid and essentially no penalty for running over budget. So these projects tend to look unrealistically cheap on paper, and then the costs spiral out of control.

In this new commercial procurement model, the government customer generates broad requirements, and private contractors submit bids for competing designs. The bids are fixed prices which the customer will pay for the specified product. If the contractor executes under budget, they make a profit. If they run over budget, they take a loss.

The result is that the contractors must submit realistic bid prices and stay on budget -- and they get a fair amount of leeway to design the system to facilitate such operational efficiencies and cost controls as long as the system satisfies the necessary requirements.

This applies to all of the contractors under the COTS/CRS and CCDev programs. SpaceX also has a few unique advantages. As a young company, they don't have any fixed costs associated with their past contracts and investments. Also, they designed and developed everything from their rocket engines to their flight software in-house, so they don't have to bear the transaction costs and organizational overhead of working with a vast network of subcontractors.

NASA has invested about $380M of taxpayer money in SpaceX so far, leveraging over $1B in additional capital from the private sector including $100M from Elon Musk himself. In return, SpaceX developed five new rocket engines, two new launch vehicles (heavy version in the works), a new reusable spacecraft (passenger version in development), and two new launch pads (third under construction). They've also completed five consecutive successful test flights.

The taxpayer has certainly never enjoyed such a remarkable return on investment in spaceflight development at least since the Gemini program. It will take another couple years for SpaceX to fully mature and prove itself as a world-class space transportation service, but they're looking pretty good so far. Even the wise learned skeptics, although still skeptical, are rather impressed.

[frank1946]

01:13 AM on 05/23/2012

Hope the Space Station Crew can have a "Cocktail" to celebrate this event !

Three Cheers for SpaceX and America.

[brucekeller]

12:54 AM on 05/23/2012

first condo on mars belongs to the tan-obessed mom.....umm umm toasty!

[MojoWorking]

12:53 AM on 05/23/2012

GREAT JOB ! An American company paying Americans to design and build things. How novel.

NASA needs to manage the transition of commercial services for low earth orbit and satellites. While they continue to work on robotic missions to explore planets, the solar system, and next generation propulsion systems.

[oldandcold]

12:25 AM on 05/23/2012

The once proud NASA is now a shell and can only buy space on rockets made by others like the Russians. The United States is now a shadow of it's past. The economy sucks, The people are unemployed by the millions and the work has been shipped to China and Mexico. Our Non-leaders drain the peoples hard earned money and corporations elect the President. I am glad I am an old man and will not see the US turned into a slave camp run by the Republican liars.

[lupusnoire]

08:01 AM on 05/23/2012

Wow! And I thought I have a pessimistic streak. The world has always been going to hell but never quite gets there. America is in decline for a lot of reasons no one can alter. We are no longer the only intact manufacturing economy like we were at the end of WWII. Technology enables money to move easily while labor remains rooted to a location. That doesn't mean we should abandon hope. We need to regulate corporate entities so they don't plunder our economy and we need to innovate. We also need to stop whining about how bad it is and get busy doing the next right thing. The elderly should be the moral compass, not predictors of doom.

[firewired]

11:52 PM on 05/22/2012

"All these worlds are yours
except Europa;
Attempt no landing there."

"Use them together;
Use them in peace."

- 2010 - The year we make contact

[lori279187]

02:52 PM on 05/25/2012

Umm, I think you're a little off on that contact date there. Or was the main stream media covering some non-news that Obama came up with and missed the aliens landing?

[firewired]

10:11 PM on 05/25/2012

The title of the MOVIE is "2010 - The year we make contact” The follow-up MOVIE to the "2001 - Space Odessey." And that is a direct quote from the final scenes of the MOVIE.

Sad!

[cosmicdart]

10:48 PM on 05/22/2012

I like to see a domed city built on the Moon where little air cars fly about instead of automobiles cuz of the low Moon gravity. We could live in three dimensions on the Moon. What would swimming be like in low Moon gravity? Could we fly with small wings inside a pressurized mile high Moon city. How high would trees grow there?

[Hitchslap2]

11:26 PM on 05/22/2012

About as high as you are right now.

[BRETT3066]

12:05 AM on 05/23/2012

okay, now that is funny. i literally laughed out loud after i read your reply. thank you!!!!! also, i agree with your reply!!!!!!!!!

[Rich Cash]

12:25 AM on 05/23/2012

"cosmicdart" dares to express an imaginative view of what life might be like on the moon in an open forum, and you find that imagination an object for ridicule. What a dull little life you must lead.

[Rich Cash]

12:18 AM on 05/23/2012

Read Robert A. Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress". It describes several of the things you mentioned.

[codifex]

02:21 AM on 05/23/2012

Good idea! He'll learn that there is no air for aircars on the moon. He will learn that indeed the Moon IS a harsh mistress.

I also like Niven's moon stories. The Woman in DelRey Crater and Patchwork Girl, many of the belter stories,

The excitement cosmicdart shows is refreshing.

[Devaron Namsaar]

10:38 PM on 05/22/2012

There are several really good implications going on here that I wonder if people in general have considered? One is, with NASA we the people could never get a straight or realistic answer to space anomalies and sightings including UFO sightings. I think those days of discrediting or silencing the astronauts are just about over. The more private people we sent into space the greater the chance the truth will leak through and be uncovered for what ever it is. NASA has hidden so much from the people of Earth that the next few years of privatized Space exploration is going to be a real wake up call for everyone concerned.

[Aarrgg]

10:56 PM on 05/22/2012

That would be the assumption...unfortunately a lot of people that have money still rely on government for contracts, tax exemptions, special appointments, etc.... It takes a truly courageous person to speak out against the government when $$$$'s or opportunity is on the line. :(

[sueoseland]

02:56 AM on 05/23/2012

There may be some truth in finding out if there is anything going on out there or if anything is here. It really isn't NASA that has hidden so much. It has been our military. Privitized space exploration will be a very interesting endeavor. Hopefully not too many major accidents. The main thing is this may put some Americans back to earth. Hopefully these private companies will not send their work to China or Mexico. The Americans do want to return in one piece!!!