CNN's aviation correspondent Lizzy O'Leary has the details on the splash-down of the Dragon capsule in the Pacific.
The first commercial mission to the International Space Station ended Thursday with the SpaceX Dragon capsule splashing down after a flight the company's founder declared a "grand slam."
"Like the smell of a brand-new car" were the words of International Space Station astronaut Don Pettit on Saturday after he carefully opened the hatch and entered the Dragon capsule for his first glimpse inside.
A private spacecraft connected to the International Space Station on Friday, a milestone in a new era of commercial space flight.
During SpaceX's berthing, an astronaut onboard the ISS said, "Houston, looks like we've caught a Dragon by the tail."
A new era in space exploration dawned Tuesday as a slender rocket shot into the dark Florida sky before sunrise, carrying the first private spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.
On Saturday, a company called SpaceX was scheduled to launch the first private mission to the International Space Station, demonstrating a freight-carrying capability NASA gave up when it retired its fleet of space shuttles in July. (The flight was aborted at the last second after a faulty valve was discovered; SpaceX officials said the launch was postponed till Tuesday or Wednesday.)
The president of private space company SpaceX says aborting the launch of the Dragon spacecraft was not a failure.
SpaceX's launch of the first private spacecraft bound for the International Space Station has been rescheduled for next week after the mission was aborted Saturday a half a second before liftoff, the company said.
The commander of the international space station Friday told CNN that the delay in the arrival of an unmanned commercial vehicle was "a little bit disappointing," but that it would be "unrealistic" to expect a complex and reliable system to be ready to go on the first try.
There are no roller coasters near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. No Ferris wheels, either.
SpaceX's private spacecraft launches at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
CNN's John Zarrella explains the significance of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and it's successful takeoff and landing.
The first commercial spacecraft to return from a low-Earth orbit landed in the Pacific Ocean Wednesday about 500 miles off the coast of southern California.
Friday's test launch of the Falcon 9 rocket was "essentially a bullseye," SpaceX officials said after the rocket successfully pushed past the earth's atmosphere and deposited a mock-up of its Dragon space capsule in orbit.
SpaceX launches its first private rocket from Cape Canaveral, serving as a symbol for future commercial space travel.
While automakers lay off staff and shut down plants in response to the economic downturn, one automaker announced Thursday that it will open a manufacturing plant in the United States, potentially creating hundreds of jobs in the area eventually chosen.
Forget the Russians and the Americans. The new space race is between the guys from Virgin Atlantic, Amazon.com, and PayPal.
Time is drawing closer for the maiden liftoff of the privately financed Falcon 1 launch vehicle, built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of El Segundo, California.
Probably the most fun plane I have is a Russian fighter jet. It's called an L-39. It has a Czech air frame, a Ukrainian engine, Russian avionics. It's what they used to train their fighter pilots o...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|