Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Karnataka,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Gujarat
Puducherry
|
| May 22, 2012 | First private commercial flight blasts off for international space station | | London: A California-based firm called SpaceX has become the first private company to launch a spacecraft to the International Space Station. This is the
first time the firm has been successful to launch a craft after fixing an engine
problem that grounded an earlier attempt. The launch of the Dragon space capsule
atop the Falcon 9 rocket, which took off at 3.44am (8.44am BST) from Cape Canaveral
, Florida , is on a mission to carry supplies to the orbiting research lab. The
test flight – which should include a fly-by and berthing with the station in the
coming days – aims to show that private industry can restore US access to the
ISS after NASA retired its space shuttle fleet last year. No humans are travelling
aboard the Dragon, but six astronauts are already at the 100-billion-dollar space
lab to help the capsule latch on, to unload supplies and then restock the capsule
with cargo to take back to Earth, the Telegraph reported. It is the first of several
US competitors to try sending its own spacecraft to the ISS with the goal of restoring
US access to space for human travellers by 2015. The company successfully test-launched
its Falcon 9 rocket in June 2010, then made history with its Dragon launch in
December 2010, becoming the first commercial outfit to send a spacecraft into
orbit and back. Its reusable Dragon capsule has been built to carry both cargo
and up to seven crew. Until now, only the space agencies of Russia , Japan and
Europe have been able to send supply ships to the ISS. If the launch goes as planned
on Tuesday, Dragon would orbit the Earth on May 23 as it travels toward the ISS.
On May 24, the spacecraft’s sensors and flight systems are to undergo a series
of tests to see if the craft is ready to berth with the space station, including
a complicated fly-under at a distance of about 1.5 miles. If NASA gives the green
light, the Dragon will then approach the ISS on May 25 in an attempt to berth
with the station. The astronauts on board the ISS will manoeuvre the station’s
robotic arm to help capture the capsule and attach it to the orbiting research
outpost. The hatch of the Dragon is set to open on May 26 for unloading and restocking.
On May 31, the Dragon is to detach from the station and make a safe landing in
the Pacific Ocean off the coast of southern California.
| |
More Travel News Headlines
|
|
|
|
|
