California firm launches mission to Space Station

on 08/10/2012 08:05:47

A commercial cargo ship rocketed into orbit in pursuit of the International Space Station, the first of a dozen supply runs under a mega-contract with Nasa.

It was the second launch of a Dragon capsule to the orbiting lab by the California-based SpaceX company. The first was last spring.

This time was no test flight, however, and the spacecraft carried 1,000lb of key science experiments and other precious gear.

There was also a personal touch: chocolate-vanilla swirl ice cream tucked in a freezer for the three station residents.

The company's unmanned Falcon rocket roared into the night sky right on time, putting SpaceX on track to reach the space station. The complex was soaring south west of Tasmania when the Falcon took flight.

Officials declared the launch a success.

In more good news, a piece of space junk was no longer threatening the station, and Nasa could focus entirely on the delivery mission.

Nasa is counting on private business to restock the space station, now that the shuttles have retired to museums. The space agency has a $1.6bn contract with SpaceX for 12 resupply missions.

Especially exciting for Nasa is the fact that the Dragon will return twice as much cargo as it took up, including a stockpile of astronauts' blood and urine samples. The samples - nearly 500 of them - have been stashed in freezers since Atlantis made the last shuttle flight in July 2011.

The Dragon will spend close to three weeks at the space station before being released and parachuting into the Pacific at the end of October. By then, the space station should be back up to a full crew of six.

None of the Russian, European or Japanese cargo ships can bring anything back; they are destroyed during re-entry. The Russian Soyuz crew capsules have limited room for anything besides people.