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Private US Spacecraft Launched

   Dragon capsule scheduled to circle Earth twice in flight demonstration
   and then splash into Pacific Ocean

   VOA News 08 December 2010
   The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral
   Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, 08 Dec. 2010

Photo: AP

   The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral
   Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, 08 Dec. 2010

   A private U.S. company has launched its first spacecraft into orbit, a
   key  test  for the future of commercial space flight as the U.S. space
   agency NASA prepares to retire its shuttle fleet.
   The  Space  Explorations Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, launched
   its Dragon capsule early Wednesday from Cape Canaveral in the southern
   U.S. state of Florida.
   It  is  the  first  launch under a NASA program to get supplies to the
   International  Space  Station  via private companies once the shuttles
   stop flying next year.
   The  Dragon  capsule  will not fly to the space station. Rather, it is
   scheduled to circle Earth twice in a flight demonstration, then splash
   into the Pacific Ocean.
   The  historic test flight marks the first time a commercial spacecraft
   will  ever attempt to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, which means the
   capsule  will  have to withstand scorching temperatures of about 2,000
   degrees Celsius.
   If  the  launch  is  successful, the next step is for an ISS fly-by as
   part  of  a  five-day  mission  in  which the Dragon will approach the
   orbiting station within 10 kilometers.
   Later,  an  actual  cargo and crew mission to the ISS is planned. Both
   are scheduled for 2011.

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