SpaceX Falcon 9 Will Take Flight Tomorrow

Everything is ready and in place for history to be made. Tomorrow morning at approximately 4:55 a.m. EST, SpaceX’s Dragon Capsule will be shot up to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral. That Dragon Capsule will be attached to a Falcon 9 rocket which will be the rocket’s third flight.

Falcon 9 stands 178-foot-tall on the Cape Canaveral launch pad and it will be carrying over half a ton of supplies to the crew aboard the ISS. If the Dragon capsule successfully reaches the space station it will be the first time any private company has achieved such a feat.

The way the flight is currently planned will see the Falcon lifting off tomorrow morning (weather permitting) and entering orbit a little after that. Once the first-stage has detached and the Dragon is left to fend for itself the capsule will begin travel towards the ISS. Two days after takeoff Dragon will be subject to many tests to decide if the vehicle will be able to connect with the ISS. If NASA deems the craft eligible the Space Stations robotic arm will aid in bringing Dragon into dock (more difficult than I made it sound :D ).

OK, we’re now hooked up! Astronauts aboard the station will open Dragon and begin to unload and then reload anything the Dragon will be taking back to Earth. Then comes what I imagine will look something like a Spartan kick while exclaiming “THIS IS SPACE STATION!” Astronauts will release the shuttle and it will head back to Earth to land somewhere in the Pacific where SpaceX will retrieve it.

Hopefully (fingers-crossed) SpaceX will be successful in their mission to the Space Station. You can watch the launch on SpaceX’s website, you can also find out lots of information on this mission and their upcoming missions on the site too.