SpaceX Will Launch Dragon Capsule In November, Bound for the International Space Station
In a SpaceX clean room in Hawthorne, Calif., technicians prepare the Dragon spacecraft for thermal vacuum chamber testing.
IMAGE BY SpaceX
A little less than six months after the final space shuttle launch, a private space company will launch a rocket carrying a cargo capsule bound for the International Space Station. SpaceX said this week that it plans a Nov. 30 launch date for its first rendezvous with the ISS - an encounter that will mark a major milestone in private space exploration.
We heard last month that NASA agreed to speed up SpaceX's flight demo schedule, as SpaceX, eager to start making deliveries under its US$1.6 billion NASA contract, asked NASA for permission to combine two planned missions into one. That mission is now targeted for the week after Thanksgiving, according to SpaceX.