SpaceX successfully launched its 18th cargo flight to the space station Thursday evening.
The Space-X Dragon Capsule lifted off at 6:01 p.m., from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Thunderstorms
moving across Florida delayed a launch attempt on Wednesday and the weather
predictions indicated a low chance for launch Thursday as more stormy weather
was expected. However, clouds thinned out and right on time the Falcon 9 roared
to life and lifted off.
On a launch pad in Florida, SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is ready for the first flight test of its new space capsule designed to carry astronauts into space.
The Falcon 9 is scheduled to take to the skies over Florida
Saturday morning. The rocket’s payload is the new Dragon capsule, the company’s
very first vehicle designed to take people to the International Space Station. Even
though the Crew Dragon capsule is meant for passengers, it will not carry
any people on board when Falcon 9 rocket blasts off.
The mission is called Demonstration-1 or DM-1 and the flight is
a test. It is only meant to show NASA that the Crew Dragon is space-worthy and
safe for future human crew members.NASA is particularly concerned
about this, because the very first people who will fly on the Crew Dragon capsule
will be the space agency’s astronauts. The Crew Dragon is a critical part of NASA
Commercial Crew Program, which has been developed by using privately-made spacecraft
to transport NASA astronauts to and from the space station.
The white, bell-shaped Dragon
capsule can carry up to seven astronauts and it is basically a more powerful
version of the SpaceX robotic cargo ship. When the capsule blasts off as, it
will travel to the International Space Station and dock there. The three
astronauts currently living in the space station will be able go
inside the hatch to load and unload cargo before the Dragon returns to Earth
and splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean.
