First Private Spaceship Flight to Space Station Announced

by Denise Chow, SPACE.com Staff Writer

Date: 09 December 2011 Time: 12:39 PM ET

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A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship approaches the International Space Station in this artist's illustration. CREDIT: SpaceX/NASA

NASA announced the launch date for the first test flight of a commercial spacecraft to the International Space Station today (Dec. 9). The mission, which will test a vehicle intended to carry cargo, and eventually crew, to orbit, represents an important step for the burgeoning private space industry, experts say.
NASA gave Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) the formal go-ahead to launch its robotic Dragon spacecraft atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the space station on Feb. 7, 2012, so long as a series of final safety reviews, testing and verification is successfully completed.


MORE: http://www.space.com/13879-spacex-dragon-space-station-launch-date-announced.html

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