Press Releases
Splash-Down! SpaceX Completes Historic Space Mission
Washington,
May 31, 2012
This morning SpaceX successfully landed its Dragon space capsule in the Pacific Ocean after a nine day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) where it berthed with the ISS delivering cargo and supplies to Astronauts conducting experiments in orbit.
“I congratulate SpaceX and all its employees for completing their mission to the International Space Station today,” said Congressman Bill Posey (R-Rockledge). “This is an important achievement for both SpaceX and the commercial space industry and I’m excited about what the future will hold for space flight.” Last Tuesday SpaceX launched their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon Capsule on a maiden voyage to the ISS. Upon reaching the space station, a robotic arm docked the Dragon capsule so supplies to the station could be unloaded. After a week in orbit, the unmanned capsule was released from the space station and safely returned back to Earth with return cargo where it landed in the Pacific Ocean off the Coast of Mexico. The completion of this mission marks the first time a commercial space company has successfully delivered cargo into space and returned to Earth. |