ASTRONAUTS ENTER WORLD'S 1ST PRIVATE SUPPLY SHIP - The hatch is open on the first commercial spacecraft to visit the International Space Station. "The smell inside smells like a brand new car," NASA astronaut Don Pettit said Saturday after floating inside SpaceX's Dragon capsule. Pettit swung open the hatch for the first time in space at 5:53 a.m. ET as the station flew 253 miles above Auckland, New Zealand. He and space station commander Oleg Kononenko entered the Dragon wearing safety goggles and a mask as a precaution in case dust or debris were loose in microgravity. More (Source: USA Today - May 26)
SPACEX CAPSULE CAPTURED BY SPACE STATION CREW IN HISTORIC MISSION - For the first time, a cargo-carrying spacecraft made by a private company arrived at the International Space Station. SpaceX's unmanned Dragon spacecraft was captured by the space station's 58-foot robotic arm by astronaut Don Pettit aboard the space station. The linkup took place about 250 miles above northwest Australia at 6:56 a.m. PDT. "Looks like we got us a Dragon by the tail," Pettit confirmed. More (Source: Los Angeles Times - May 25)
SPACEX DRAGON CAPSULE BREEZES THROUGH STATION FLYBY TESTS - After a picture-perfect launch Tuesday, a commercial cargo ship built by SpaceX made a close flyby of the International Space Station early Thursday, approaching from behind and below for a successful series of tests to make sure the capsule's navigation, flight control and communications systems will work as required when the spacecraft moves in for berthing Friday. More (Source: CNET - May 25)
SPACEX'S DRAGON SPACECRAFT CATCHING UP TO SPACE STATION - SpaceX's unmanned Dragon space capsule is getting ready to rendezvous with the International Space Station for the first time early Thursday. After its launch on Tuesday, Dragon spent Wednesday catching up with the 240-mile-high (386-kilometer-high) orbital laboratory, and plans to fly within 1.5 miles (2.5 kilometers) of the station on Thursday. The meeting will be the first approach by a privately built vehicle to the station, a $100 billion collaboration between five international space agencies. More (Source: MSNBC - May 24)
SPACEX LAUNCHES WITH 15 DREAMS ONBOARD - SpaceX successfully launched the first commercial rocket today. The Falcon 9 rocket along with the Dragon capsule is loaded with the hopes and dreams of hundreds of students around the USA. The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP), launched June 2010 by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in partnership with NanoRacks, LLC, is an important U.S. national Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education initiative that gives students across a community the ability to design and propose real experiments to fly in low Earth orbit, first aboard the final flights of the Space Shuttle, and then on the International Space Station (ISS)—America’s newest National Laboratory. More (Source: Forbes.com - May 22)
SPACEX 'GO' FOR 2ND LAUNCH TRY OF PRIVATE ROCKET TUESDAY MORNING - The private rocket company SpaceX is officially "go" to make a second try at launching its unmanned Dragon capsule early Tuesday, May 22, from Florida's Space Coast. The spacecraft was due to make its maiden trip to the International Space Station Saturday, May 19, but a rocket engine glitch forced a launch abort at the last second. Over the weekend, SpaceX engineers investigated the problem and discovered a faulty check valve was to blame for the abnormally high chamber pressure in the engine that caused the abort. More (Source: Fox News - May 22)
ASTEROID SET TO NARROWLY MISS EARTH, MAY SMASH SATELLITES - A newly found 150-foot-wide asteroid may pass so close to the Earth that it might destroy communications satellites, researchers say. Discovered by astronomers at the LaSagra Observatory in Spain, 2012 DA14 is estimated to veer near enough to Earth to potentially disrupt geosynchronous satellites on February 15, 2013, a newspaper reported. While the asteroid is currently a ‘fuzzy little blob’, as seen through telescopes, 2012 DA14 may eventually come to pass 21,000 miles away from the Earth putting synchronous satellites in the firing line. More (Source: Zee News - May 20)
SPACEX REPLACES FAULTY ROCKET VALVE FOR SPACE STATION FLIGHT - SpaceX engineers have replaced a faulty engine valve on a private rocket carrying the first commercial space capsule bound for the International Space Station following the last-second abort during an attempted liftoff Saturday. The valve replacement came after SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which will loft the firm's unmanned Dragon capsule toward the station, aborted its launch attempt a half-second before liftoff from a pad here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. More (Source: MSNBC - May 20)
SPACEX LAUNCH ABORTED AT LAST SECOND - A private company was on the verge of making history by sending a spacecraft to the International Space Station, but the launch of an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket belonging to SpaceX was aborted in the final second before liftoff early Saturday due to technical difficulties. Another attempt was slated for early next week. The Falcon holds a capsule called Dragon that is loaded with 1,000 pounds of space station provisions. More (Source: CBS News - May 19)
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