A private supply rocket bound for the International Space Station could usher in a new age in space travel.
A company successfully blasted its Falcon 9 rocket into space at 3:44 a.m. Tuesday from Cape Canaveral.
If the mission is successful, SpaceX will be the first private company to dock a commercial spacecraft at the space station, which means the government won’t be the only organization in space.
“We’re really at the dawn of a new era of space exploration and one where there’s a much bigger role for commercial companies,” Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and PayPal co-founder, told reporters in a press conference Tuesday.
SpaceX, also known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., is a Hawthorne, Calif.-based aerospace company founded by Musk.
The company built the Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy space boosters, which are used as launch vehicles to transport smaller spacecrafts, including SpaceX’s Dragon, to deliver supplies to the space station.
Tuesday’s liftoff marked SpaceX’s second attempt to launch the Dragon, equipped with Falcon 9 boosters, after aborting the mission Saturday.
The mission was pushed to 3:44 a.m. Tuesday to line up the space station’s orbit with the launchpad on Earth.
This time, all systems were cleared for takeoff, and in about 10 minutes, Dragon was in orbit.
Musk said he had concerns with the rockets after Saturday’s cancellation, but the launch proved otherwise.
“It was tremendous elation,” Musk said. “For us, it’s like winning the Super Bowl.”
The unmanned rocket transported Dragon into space, where it is expected to dock on the station Friday.
The spacecraft contains about 1,000 pounds of supplies.
NASA said a section of the cargo contains the ashes of about 300 people, including Leroy Gordon Cooper Jr., one of the original Project Mercury astronauts, and actor James Doohan, who played chief engineer Montgomery Scott from the “Star Trek” TV series.
Once the capsule docks, space station astronauts will spend the next week unloading supplies from the capsule and filling it with cargo bound for Earth.
Dragon will then detach from the space station, return to Earth and land in the Pacific Ocean near the Southern California coast on May 31, according to the SpaceX website.
If successful, the company will begin a $1.6 billion contract with NASA flying 12 cargo missions to the space station.
However, if the mission fails, SpaceX will “learn from the experience and try again,” according to the company’s website.
David Hahn, chairman of UF’s mechanical and aerospace engineering department, said in an email he believes the Dragon mission is a step forward for NASA.
He said he feels investments in creating jobs and expanding technology are more important than whether a private company or NASA is involved.
Brett Freidkes, a 19-year-old mechanical engineering junior, said SpaceX’s mission could open doors to job opportunities for college graduates in the future.
“It not only gives incoming employees experience, but it will be good for space travel overall,” he said. “I think this could lead to some very beneficial discoveries for humanity.”
Contact Chris Alcantra at calcantra@alligator.org.
